


She-Ra And The Nightmare Warrior

by Mica_agata, Red_Liepard



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Other, She-Ra The Movie, she-ra and the princesses of power - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29723952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mica_agata/pseuds/Mica_agata, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Liepard/pseuds/Red_Liepard
Summary: After defeating Horde Prime and rebuilding Etheria, the friend squad will launch to a new adventure: give planets their magic back. But, upon arriving at the last one, they'll meet with an unexpected challenge. Will they be able to overcome it?(This story continues from the end of the series, so if you haven't seen it yet, I recommend doing it first)
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Kudos: 9





	1. Alone Together (Part 1)

After Horde Prime’s imminent defeat, the slow process of rebuilding Etheria started, because, even though the big evil was long gone, the destruction left in its wake remained. For this reason, it took some time to reestablish everything back to “normal”. Plenty of villages and kingdoms had been severely damaged, and as such, it required plenty of hard work to try to fix all the damages. To a large degree, they were succeeding but not yet to a 100%.

In the meantime, and with lots of arguments about it, Mica decided that his daughter should remain the queen. Glimmer had refused numerous times, but the Etheria’s former king insisted, arguing that she successfully completed the ritual, that she was more than capable, and that he would always be by her side to guide her whenever she needed him. He ignored to mention that governing without Angella would feel weird to him, furthermore, her daughter as the ruler made much more sense.

Bow, Adora, Catra, and Glimmer hadn’t been able to rest properly since the newfound peace and the rest couldn’t say they were so much better; everybody, somehow, collaborated with each other putting Etheria back to its feet, as strong and stable as possible. Afterward, it could be said that true peace and quiet reigned, and except for some small problems now and then, everybody managed to rest… at least for a while. As the calm days went by, the friend squad started to grow more and more restless. They needed new challenges, new adventures. Something to get them on track once more. That’s why, one day, they decided to get up and leave. They were sure that it was the right time to carry out on their promise after Horde Prime was defeated, undertaking them, on one last adventure; seeking to aid the planets that Horde Prime and the First Ones left in shambles, returning the magic back to those who were robbed.

Although at first, everything seemed to go well and easy, with each passing moment, the experience turned a little more intense, extensive, and exhausting than expected. But at the same time, they couldn’t deny they were having a great time helping so many planets and beings who believed they were done for.

After many months of hard work, there was only one more planet left to come back home, something that Bow, Adora, and Glimmer lamented a little since it meant the end of the trip, and possibly, of their last great adventure. Catra, on her side, couldn’t wait to get back y take a big break; she doubted they could ever have real peace until their final days, her negativity clearly didn’t allow her to think otherwise.

She-ra was outside the ship destroying a meteor rain, while Glimmer watched her attentive, Bow was trying to find out how to reach the new planet, and Catra sighed in a corner, a little annoyed and bored. The last couple days hadn’t been anything but them locked in the ship, struggling to find the exact coordinates, as they travel to an “approximate location”, which wasn’t at all near their previous visited planet. In some other time, the girl would have found entertainment in watching She-ra smash things, but even that became a mundane occurrence. Neither was she worried that something might happen since there were no doubts of how strong She-ra was, and how little of a threat this situation was to her.

A couple of more minutes passed, and Adora finally could end her chore. She entered the ship with a graceful air, agitated for the adrenaline and the excitement of the moment. Immediately Glimmer teleported beside her, really excited.

“Adora, nice job, you made it!” she congratulated her, with a smile and a short hug.

“And we only suffered much less damaged than I anticipated” added Bow, relieved and content, “Plus, I have some more great news”

“What?” asked Adora, curious.

“I found where the new planet is located!”

“Really, Bow? That’s awesome!” Cheered Glimmer, as the boy, nodded. Both girls walked to him and gave him a big hug, celebrating their goal, as Catra clapped unenthusiastically in the background.

“Awesome, wow. It was time we traveled with a set course… Were we even going to the right place at least? “said with unwillingness, making Bow and the rest get a bit upset.

“Catra!” Yelled Adora, disapproval tainted her blue eyes.

“I’ve been working as fast as I could” Retorted Bow, irritated by her comment and the added tiredness. “If I’m not fast enough, you can do it”, after this statement he attempted to walk away, only to be stopped by Catra who sighed and grabbed his arm

“I’m sorry, I’m tired, didn’t mean to offend you…” she apologized honestly, without meeting his eyes, “I really want to get back to Etheria and take a long break”, she admitted calmly.

“Try not to be so mean to me, I’m tired too...” answered Bow, causing Catra to grow more regretful of her sayings. Adora came closer to them and put her arms over her friend’s shoulders.

“This is the last one, okay?” she reminded them, conciliatory. But Catra was still unconvinced to resume the mission, “We’ll do it quickly, it'll be easy, none of the previous ones were super hard…”

“Oh, no?” asked Catra raising her eyebrow. Adora looked sideways, pretending to not understand, “We were chased by a pack of…” she started listing but stopped herself as she tried to think what to called those horrible beings, “giant abominations that almost eats us alive, we climbed a giant mountain and almost froze to death, oh and how to forget those beautiful gigantic plants that almost eats us… AGAIN!” exclaimed upset.

Adora knew that Catra had a good point, but she wanted to try to be as positive as possible, which is why she wasn’t going to give in so easily.

“The mountain barely counted for you” Interrupted Glimmer. Catra rolled her eyes. “We barely made a few steps and you immediately asked Adora to carry you as She-ra” she retorted, as the other girl smiles remembering the moment; she had clearly taken advantage of Adora’s innocence, but already at that time she was exhausted with all of the missions.

“I was tired” Catra shrugged. Glimmer looked at her with incredulous eyes and a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t forget the fire planet” added Bow, thinking this was a sort of game or remembrance of what they’ve been through.

“Bow!” Glimmer and Adora snapped at the same time, giving him a murderous stare, making him understand he messed up.

“Sorry…”

“No, thank you, you gave me another point to show I’m right” Catra smiled triumphal, looking at Adora, who seemed to be a bit frustrated.

“Well, okay! But because of all that we are ready, nothing can be worse” Adora sentenced, trying to convince her, but it seemed like she didn’t; not wanting to keep on arguing, Catra got up from where she was sitting and walked to the door, with Melog alongside her.

“Let me know when we’re there,” she asked with a serious tone, as she yawns, abandoning the place. Adora couldn’t help but let out a loud sigh, because of that, Glimmer placed her arm around her friend’s shoulder, to show her support. Adora turned around to meet Glimmer’s kind smile.

“She’ll get over it, don’t worry,” she said, trying to calm her.

“I hope so”

“She’s like a child, surely after her nap, she’ll feel better” added Bow, making Adora laugh, “And, if you want me to feel a little better too, I wouldn’t mind if you give me a hand to prepare for the last mission,” he asked shyly. Both girls hesitated. “Please?”, he said almost begging. Adora and Glimmer looked at each other, sighed, and nodded simultaneously.

“Fine, what should we do?”

Glimmer wasn’t expecting many instructions, but, to her surprise, she was wrong. Bow started to prepare different groups of “possible equipment” for the mission, which confused the girls a lot, they didn’t understand what was the need of all this, but either way, they got to work, helping him using the spare time they had.

“Bow, are we really going to use of all this stuff?” asked Adora, puzzled. She placed the box she was carrying to the side.

“Maybe…” answered the boy, as he kneeled to the ground, revising one of the boxes, searching for something. “We don’t have much information about this planet, so I don’t know what’s going to be more adequate, that’s why I’m preparing plenty of alternatives” he informed her, while he grabbed stuff from the box, observed it carefully but upon realizing it wasn’t what he was looking for, he’d discard it.

“What are you searching for?” Glimmer asked, entering the room and placing yet another box in the ground, staring at him curiously.

“This!” Bow stood up quickly, with a triumphant smile on his face, holding a small group of pellets in his hands, not quite answering the queen’s question.

“And what is that?” asked puzzled, while Adora lost her focus in the conversation and placed it in one of the controls, one she never saw, placed in the control desk.

“These are small, but lethal explo-“, started to explain Bow, but stopped when he saw the blonde woman holding the detonator, checking it out curiously.

“What’s this for?” Adora’s finger getting dangerously close to the red button.

“Adora don’t touch that!” the boy’s voice cracked under the pressure, causing the girl to stop on her tracks and lift her arms above her head. Bow walked to her and removed the detonator from her hand carefully; sighing once he had it and leaving Adora speechless. “ It’s a detonator, and these are the bombs” he clarified the doubts of the girls.

“Sorry…” said Adora still processing what almost happened.

“Do you really think we’ll need them?” asked Glimmer, eyeing the bombs with distrust.

“I hope it’s not necessary, but I admit I’ll like to see them in action” Bow couldn’t hide the enthusiasm in his voice; he was truly intrigued with how powerful those small dispositive could actually be.

“Oh, are those my bombs?” Entrapta´s voice could be heard from behind. The group turned around, startled, where the hologram of the young scientist materialized. Without a second thought, they hurried to her projection, quite excited.

“Entrapta, hi!” greeted Glimmer cheerfully, “how are you?”

“We are” she started to say, but a loud explosion in the background interrupted her, worrying them a bit.

“What was that?” asked Adora.

“I think Hordak failed again on what he was doing…” said the girl, laughing careless.

“I don’t fail!” his angry shout was loud enough to be heard for everybody, causing them all to react like Entrapta.

“How’s the rest? Have you been in contact with them?” asked Bow happy to speak to her after such a long time; with how busy they been, and the interference that happened sometimes, it was difficult to keep in touch with their home.

“I think they’re about to log in…” answered Entrapta, confusing the group again, but soon they noticed another small screen that showed an over-exaggerated close-up of Sea Hawk’s face.

“Is it working?” he asked, getting even closer.

“Sea Hawk, move, you’re covering everyone,” said Mermista annoyed, as she pushed him out of frame, which made everybody laugh.

“But I want to see them too” begged the sailor.

“No” denied sharply the princess, then she looked at the group, “Hi everyone”

“Is Catra there?” asked Scorpia, unconsciously moving closer to the screen, trying to enhance the image to get a better look.

“I think she’s sleeping right now, but I’ll tell her you asked for her” answered Adora kindly.

“Oh…”

“Guys, how are you!?” Perfuma, energetic and happily joined the call, greeting with both her hands.

“Glimmer, daughter, how’s the mission going?” asked Micah at the same time, the squad started to get a bit dizzy due to this situation.

“Adora! Are you okay!? Can you hear me?! Swift wind’s strident voice covered the rest, adding himself fervently to the conversation, as the rest tried to speak at the same time, creating a big bustle.

“This is going to be hard…” sighed Glimmer, watching and listening to the mess of that attempt at a group call.

Luckily, after a while, the conversation turned more organic and easy going. Soon enough, everybody was up to speed about the friend squad adventures and the news from Etheria.

“So, the last remaining planet is Zeiren, right?” asked Entrapta curious, Bow nodded.

“Yes, we don’t have much information on that matter, so I’ve been preparing some alternatives…”

“Oh, I believed I found some more information” interrupted Entrapta, “Zeiren is a planet with a high magnetic atmosphere, so I wouldn’t recommend taking any of these…” explained, as she wrote a list on her computer and sent it to him. Bow quickly grabbed his communicator and stared at it intently.

“Okay…” He said a bit worried, “I think nothing I planned will work” he finally added, unhappiness in his voice.

“But you still got time, you can do it,” Perfuma said conciliatory, making Bow smile.

“Actually, if the information I have is right…” corrected Entrapta, staring at her screen and typing on her keyword, “You only have about two hours.”

“Two hours?!” exclaimed Bow, upset. Entrapta smiled and nodded without worries, “Alright I love you all, but I have so much to prepare… Send my regards to my fathers”, after blurting all that out, Bow dismissed himself quickly.

“Is he okay?” Asked a confused, and recently logged in Frosta.

The girls only stayed a little bit longer speaking with everybody, but in the end, they decided not to extend it much further. Although they missed their friends and family, they also wanted to help Bow. He left them very worried with his nervousness; they understood there was a lot that needed to be done and so little time to do so, as such, they followed him to get the preparations done.

The hours went faster than expected, and soon enough they realized how close their new destiny was, to the point that they could observe such imposing planet displayed before them, with a great variety of warm colors; red being the main one, which was the color of the ground. Despite the whole experience, and all the places previously visited, they couldn’t help but be in awe of each and every one of the planets, which were so incredibly unique on their own terms.

After a couple of minutes of admiring fascination, Bow walked to the control desk to type in the database of the old map they had of the place, trying to get the coordinates of the main village.

“I’m gonna get Catra” Adora let her friends know, placing the small backpack they managed to load, on the floor.

To the surprise and discomfort of Bow, according to Entrapta's list, only a few items could be used on the planet, so he prayed to no meet so many problems out there.

Adora left the room in a rush, begging that Catra was already awake, so she wouldn’t have to and face her broody mood; but luckily to her, before she made it to the bedroom, Catra appeared rubbing her eyes, with Melog by her side.

“Are we there yet?” asked then yawned.

Adora was about to respond with a big smile, but a huge tremor interrupted her, pushing her and Catra to one of the ships’ walls.

“Sorry girls, we’re landing” explained Bow, a bit tense and nervous, “I made a tiny mistake, hold on.” He warned while the ship started to shake more and Adora and Catra ran to hold onto some metal bars near them.

“I wouldn’t have mind to be notified beforehand…”, complained Catra as she wrapped one arm around the metal bar, and the other to Melog.

“I’m sorry but we’ve been busy, Bow had to change all our plans because Entrapta told him what we had was worthless…” she explained fast, with difficulty. She could feel her arms giving up. Catra was in a similar position, or even in a worst one since she was holding herself and Melog at the same time; that’s why, when the pressure got higher she couldn’t take it anymore prompting her to let go. 

“Adora!” she yelled, at the same time Melog whimpered. The blonde girl, who had her eyes closed, opened them quickly and without thinking twice, transformed into She-ra and threw herself down to catch them both and use her own big body as a receptor for the impact, it left a big yet shallow bash on the wall.


	2. Chapter 1: Alone Together (Part 2)

“Adora!” she yelled, at the same time Melog whimpered. The blonde girl, who had her eyes closed, opened them quickly and without thinking twice, transformed into She-ra and threw herself down to catch them both and use her own big body as a receptor for the impact, it left a big yet shallow bash on the wall.  
  


Fortunately, it didn’t take much longer for the ship to stabilize itself, confirming that they were close to touching land, which meant an end to the girls’ problems.  
  


“Are you guys okay?” asked Adora, far more concerned about their safety than her own.  
  


“We are fine. What about you?” Catra examined her worryingly, which made Adora smile, she drifted from the wall and returned to her normal shape.  
  


“I’m…”  
  


“Oh my god!” Yelled Glimmer, running towards them, and alarmed once she saw the hole in the ship, “Are you okay?”  
  


“We’ve been worse” answered Catra with a smile, looking at Adora who smiled as well.  
  


“I’m so glad you’re okay. Bow was so nervous that when he types the coordinates he unconsciously accepted the automatic landing” she explained sighing, still shaken.  
  


“Don’t worry, we are fine” repeated Adora with a reassuring smile.  
  


The three girls walked to Bow’s location, the boy was focused, supervising that everything worked accordingly as they were a few meters away from landing, so the trio stood there in silence observing how Bow managed even the slightest detail. Once they finally landed, Bow let go of all the pressure inside him with a loud sigh.  
  


“I’m sorry for what happened…” he whispered turning around to face them, verifying that they were safe and sound.  
  


“You almost kill us, but we survived” commented Catra exaggerating, trying to upset him.  
  


“It wasn’t so bad!” interrupted Adora nervously, not wanting the boy to feel bad, as she tried to give Catra a menacing look.  
  


“If it wasn’t for She-ra, we’d be probably dead…” she added without paying attention.

  
“Catra!”  
  


“No, it’s true…” Bow stopped her, getting up from his seat and walking towards them, “It was dangerous and I’m sorry, but I’m very tired and I did almost everything without thinking, “he apologized crestfallen and distressed.

  
“It’s fine, just don’t make another mistake that can kill us” answered Catra without letting go of her pride.

  
“Soon we’ll arrive at the town and you’ll be able to rest.” Glimmer hugged him, trying to show her support. The boy smiled briefly, but he couldn’t move past the guiltiness he felt.  
  


After their rocky landing, the friend squad- equipped with the small backpack full of equipment- exited the ship, still somewhat dizzy. Their discomfort heightened with the extreme heat and the high humidity that slap them as soon as they touch the red earth; a big and thick jungle surrounded them, not allowing them to see anything beyond a few meters.

Bow remained nearby the ship and seemed to get stuck in a loop that consisted of staring at the map to look around where they stood. The boy noticed that something didn’t go according to plan. Nervous, he started to curse under his breath, unable to believe how unlucky they were.

Glimmer, Adora, and Catra watched how the young archer lowered and lifted his gaze from the device countless times. After a while, the anxiety of not knowing what was happening started to grow deep in Catra, until she finally exploded:  
  


“God, what’s happening?!” Bow seemed to ignore her, so Catra already bothered and without being able to take the situation any longer, walked to Bow and grabbed the map from his hands to look at it herself, not quite understanding what it said.  
  


“I think I miscalculated…” started to explain the boy, shrinking, embarrassed for his mistake.  
  


“What?!” Yelled Catra hysteric, loud enough to make the birds around the scattered, “What do you mean “miscalculated”? “What does that mean?” she asked, grabbing him by the collar of his suit, dramatically shaking him.  
  


“I’m sorry,” said Bow, terrified and truly sorry, not knowing how to keep justifying all the mistakes he kept having.  
  


“Catra, calm down” plead Adora.  
  


Catra looked at her and, after thinking it through, complied with the girls’ plead and finally let go of him. She walked away kicking rocks, trying to defuse her anxiety and bad mood.  
  


Glimmer got closer to Bow, to try to give him some support: the boy appeared desolated, and it wasn’t from Catra mistreatment, but also for everything that kept happening because of him.  
  


“How bad is it?” asked the queen, fearful of the answer, but attempting to be as nice as possible as she stood beside him, putting her hand in his shoulder.  
  


“We’ll have to walk some kilometers, and we can’t use the ship again, because we might run out of energy to go back home afterward…” he explained, looking at the ground. Catra, hearing this, started to breathe deeply, trying to compose herself. Adora, who watched both situations, was growing more and more nervous, given that things weren’t going particularly well. “And it’s getting dark, so we should rush”, he added. Catra kicked a rock harshly.  
  


“Everything will be okay!” said Adora nervously, attempting to defuse the situation. “We’ll spend the night here, Melog will make the ship invisible to evade any predators, and we’ll be safe.” She explained her idea.  
  


“But if we do that…” tried shyly to contradict Bow.  
  


“WHAT?!” asked Adora upset, scaring the boy. She, acknowledging her loss of control, inhaled deeply then looked at Bow. “My apologies, if we do that, what awful thing might happen?” asked again, calmly.  
  


“If we stay in the ship we’d have to turn it on, which means energy loss” explained, already scared of bringing more bad news.  
  


“Well, but we can stay without using energy, right?” she asked him. Bow nodded. ”Great, so, how bad can it be?” retorted Adora, laughing nervously.  
  


Without any further questioning, they chose the alternative raised by Adora; who clearly didn’t take into consideration the coldness of the night time. Something that surprised them, since it was a complete contradiction of the temperature they experienced in the afternoon.  
  


The friend squad tracked and snatched all the blankets available, but these didn’t seem to be enough: the ship was pretty much a refrigerator.  
  


“I think this was a bad idea”, Adora corrected herself, shivering.  
  


“Really? What makes you say that?” asked Catra ironically, staring at her upset, shivering like the rest, and covered head to toes in one of the blankets. Melog, which was wearing his own coat, lied down by her side, eating his food.  
  


“If you had a better idea, you should have said it” Adora retorted quickly, provoking Catra, but before she could answer back, Glimmer entered the room holding a tray with four steaming cups.  
  


“What is that?” asked Bow, with shine in his eyes, as Catra and Adora turned around to look too.  
  


“I used my magic and made something warm to drink… it’s not much but…”  
  


The three, without thinking much more, jump at it like beasts to grab one of those delicious beverages, interrupting the witch’s monologue, which got surprised by such reaction.  
  


“Ah this is amazing, Glimmer, thank you very much,” said Bow charmed, while he sipped from his cup, the queen couldn’t help but smile.  
  


“You are the best, thanks” added Adora happy.  
  


The only one left was Catra, which was smiling slightly at the warm feeling of the cup in her hands, but couldn’t be bothered to say anything about it, something that Glimmer wasn’t gonna let slide, so she centered her gaze on her, waiting with an arrogant yet funny smile, some type of devolution.  
  


“What?” she asked indifferently but got serious once she noticed the queen’s expectancy, who wouldn’t stop smiling.  
  


“Oh, c’mon, at least said that you like it” answered Glimmer, causing Catra to rolled her eyes and let out a small groan.  
  


“Yes, is good…” she said indifferently, taking another sip and looking elsewhere. To Glimmer it was enough, she knew how Catra was and that was more than a compliment coming from someone so annoyed.  
  


The friend squad enjoyed their drinks and then, after some conversations that lighten the mood, they finally went to sleep. Bow resting his back against the wall, and Glimmer on his shoulder; Melog slept nearby Catra protectively, and she was curled up, one arm stretched, her hand barely touching Adora’s, who slept completely scattered on the cold floor.

Everybody rested as placidly as they could in that situation; or at least, the peace remained for a couple of hours until Catra, who wasn’t dreaming anything, in particular, started to. In the dream she opened her eyes, confused as she listened to some footsteps getting close; but the girl didn’t get up to investigate, she just assumed it was probably nothing important. So Catra just decided to take a look at her surroundings and try to resume sleeping once she noticed nothing unusual, but at the moment she tried to close her eyes again, suddenly she felt the hair on her body bristle as a presence materialized behind her.  
  


“Bring her to me,” said the voice of what sounded like a girl, whispering in Catra’s ear.  
  


Catra woke up agitated, convinced that someone was on the ship, and because of that, she started to minutely observe the place: the first thing she noticed was that she was holding Adora’s hand, which made her smile shyly, but then, when she turned to see Melog, Catra found the animal a little twitched and slightly red staring intently at the ship’s door. This sent a shiver down her spine since it didn’t make it easier to believe it was just a dream, although, at the same time, there weren’t any clues that someone has gotten in. So she tried to ease Melog and she lay back down, holding Adora’s hand a little bit tighter, making the latter smile subconsciously.

After the incident, Catra lie tense and on edge for the remainder of the night, unable to shut an eye as she thought on everything that had happened, and despite her worries, she didn’t want to upset her friends, so she waited as patiently as she could for the morning to arise.

When the sunlight started coming in through the big glasses of the ship, there was no need for Catra to wake up her friends; Glimmer and Bow did it automatically due to the clarity slightly blinding them. The only one seemingly unaware was Adora, who kept sleeping happily.  
  


“Adora, wake up,” said Catra, softly shaking her shoulder.  
  


“A little bit longer…” she requested, with a dumb smile, as she turned to her side. Catra spoke no more, she just stared at Melog, letting him understand to wake her up, so the cute animal got close to Adora and started licking her face, “Melog, no” asked the blonde between smiles, but he wouldn’t relent, “Okay, fine, I give up.” she said, as she sat down, petting him, “Morning” she greeted with a smile watching them all. Bow and Glimmer were stretching, given that the position they slept in hadn’t been the best, Catra, who was in front of her doing the same as the aforementioned, answered to her smile with one of her own.  
  


“Good morning, Adora” she greeted, extending her arm to help her stand up.  
  


“Good morning,” said Glimmer and Bow at the same time, a little worn out.  
  


“Good, we already said “Good morning”, now little genius explain to us the new plan,” asked Catra expectantly, looking at Bow.  
  


“Follow the map where the town is supposed to be” he answered, as he took it, “I was able to mark the point where we stand, so it won’t be a problem to just follow it..”  
  


“Yes, fine, but this time I’ll handle it,” said Catra, taking it out of his hands.  
  


“Hey! You don’t even know how to read it” the boy scolded her, trying to get the map back, to no avail due to the young girl’s agility.  
  


“I think I can learn to do it better than you” was her answer, while she sticks her tongue out, smiling arrogantly.  
  


“Are you sure that…” tried to question Adora.  
  


“Are you doubting me” interrupted her, raising an eyebrow. “I defeated you all dozens of times while using plenty of these maps, I’m more than capable…”  
  


“Okay, that’s enough” Glimmer's annoyed voice was heard, causing the three of them to stop. “Bow takes your arrows, Adora get ready, and Catra “she started to order, then turned to the latter, “I seriously hope you know what you’re doing”, she added, a bit threatening, which didn’t seem to inhibit the girl at all.  
  


“Don’t worry, my queen, I promise to take you all safe and sound to the village we were already meant to be at” she answered ironically, to then stare at Bow with some apprehension still.  
  


“I hope so,” said Glimmer still distrustful, but Catra kept her snooty smile, which was ignored by her, “Are you guys ready?” she asked at Adora and Bow.  
  


“Yeah, it’s just… what are we going to do with Melog?” asked Adora, doubtful.  
  


“I guess the best is for him to stay guarding the ship, stopping anybody from attacking it… or steal it” Catra was quick to respond, interrupting Glimmer before she could speak. Melog let out a groan hearing her words, “Yes, of course, we’ll leave you food and we’ll try to come back as soon as possible”, she answered, caressing his back.  
  


“Well then, we are ready now, shall we go?” asked Glimmer. The rest nodded.  
  


Catra said goodbye to Melog, keeping her promise of leaving plenty of food and trying not to get very sentimental; clearly, the idea of keeping him behind wasn’t her favorite, but this planet was completely unknown to them, and they didn’t want to take the risk of having the ship exposed in such faraway place.  
  


“We are going to come back soon,” said the girl to her pet, resting her forehead on that of the animal, and before Catra walked away, he gave her a little kiss, causing her to smile, “I love you too” she answered honestly, forgetting that the group was still standing there, watching the scene with teary eyes. Catra, becoming self-aware, turned around to give them a murderous stare. “Don’t you dare say something”, she warned before they did, making the trio tried to contain themselves.  
  


The friend squad had a long walk ahead of them, something, they thought, were mentally ready to face, but after some kilometers, the emotion of the adventure defused as well as their security. It was an overly hot and humid day, completely different to what they experience at night and even worse than the day before; the air was extremely heavy, to the point where they felt drowned, and the sun seemed to burn their skin. The water they carry gave the impression that it wasn’t going to last, and that fear resulted to be true; halfway they ran out. Although they were worried, they decided not to let this completely discourage them.

Catra, tired for being almost unable to sleep and because of the long walk, allowed the rest to get ahead of her, and once she stood out of sight, she pretended to fall. Bow, Glimmer, and Adora, alerted by the noise, turned around quickly, and when the blonde saw what happened, she hurried to the girl. Bow and Glimmer, instead, remained skeptical looking at the scene, doubting Catra.  
  


“Catra, what happened? Are you alright?” asked Adora worried, trying the help her stand up.  
  


“I think a tripped with a bran… ouch” she complained while standing, faking pain, “I think I sprained my ankle.”  
  


“Do you want me to carry you?” offered Adora worried, with a certain innocence.  
  


“Adora, do you really believe her?” interrupted Glimmer, walking over, before Catra got what she clearly intended, unable to understand how her friend always fell for the girl’s lies.  
  


“I don’t get why she’d lie” she answered very securely, transforming in She-ra and letting Catra hang on her back.  
  


“Thanks, Adora,” Catra said, as she stuck her tongue out to Glimmer without Adora realizing, causing the Queen to get completely incensed, but before she could say anything, Bow placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to appease her, while laughing.  
  


“Let her be” Said Bow with a smile, taking the weight off the matter, watching how Adora and Catra went happily on their way.  
  


Glimmer let out a loud sigh but complied with the boy’s suggestion, ignoring the matter and starting to walk again following them.

The friend squad followed Catra´s instructions, and according to her, the main village was just around the corner. So they, albeit exhausted, felt a little more relieved and carefree.

Hours passed by, the sunset grew near and the jungle seemed to get a little thicker. She-ra, noticing this, was forced to utilize her sword to make way for them, provoking the bugs to fly closely.  
  


“Are we th…AH!” attempted Bow to ask, but he was interrupted by the bug climbing up his arm.  
  


“What happened?” asked Glimmer worried turning around, same as Adora and Catra when she heard the scream, but once they saw what it was, they couldn’t help but laugh, “Bow, it’s just a tiny insect, it can’t hurt you,” remarked, walking over him to remove that nasty insect, but to her surprise and disgust, it started flying, “It flies!”, Glimmer yelled alongside Bow, who started running around, chased by the fly. Adora started to do the same, without paying attention to anything in front of her, nor the direction they had taken.  
  


Catra couldn’t see the map due to the branches that hit her face, but luckily the noise it made let her know they were almost there.  
  


“Wait!” she ordered, making them stop abruptly.  
  


Completely exhausted, they all bend over to regain their breath; clearly running hadn’t done anything but completely exhausted them.

The group looked around, seeing nothing but plants and big trees surrounding them, which confuse them a little since it didn’t appear like they were anywhere near any town.  
  


“Catra, you think you can go on your own for now?” asked Adora, agitated, Catra nodded and climbed down with a smile, so the girl could abandon She-ra’s form.  
  


“That’s no problem since I won’t have to do that, because…” she said while, with a conceited smile and staring at the map, she took a few steps and removed some plants to open the path; the rest just followed her with curious eyes, “We’re here”, she indicated looking upfront, but her smile faded by the sight ahead of her. The place was far different from what she was expecting, and when she looked down at the map; she realized that what she was following up until that point, had vanished. “Wait, I…” she tried to justify herself, but Bow walked over and took the map from her hands.  
  


“Catra, you said you could read it!” he scolded her, justifiably; “We even deviate!” Bow exclaimed, even more, upset as he checked their location.  
  


“Yes, I know, I swear it was there the whole time, now it disappeared.” She tried to justify herself, unable to understand what had happened.  
  


“That’s impossible” Glimmer stressed, upset too.  
  


“I’m sorry Miss Perfection, but perhaps the map your boyfriend built is defective” she retorted, causing the latter to blush, same as Bow.  
  


“Don’t try to move the focus of the conversation!” said Glimmer, her cheeks still red.  
  


The three kept arguing like children, but Adora wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes posed over the ruins of that place, curious for how immense it was. The whole place looked like it had been abandoned a long time ago; and nature had started to proclaim themselves as proprietors, with beautiful flowers and plants, that gave the impression to be a part of the architecture of the tall towers and the vast hallways. Adora, fascinated by her surroundings and interested to see how the inside was, decided to walked in to investigate, without letting the rest know since they stayed focus on their argument.  
  


“Hello!” she yelled, not expecting any answer, her voice echoing around. She turned to her right, nothing but darkness. Then, when she turned to her left, she managed to see a shadow moving afar; Adora walked deeper into the hallway, trying to see if it was a person or some animal, “It’s somebody there?” she asked a little afraid, but still walking until she was met with a staircase, which she climbed without a thought, reaching a floor filled with old and empty furniture, weathered flags hanging on the walls. The blonde girl got clearly worried at the sight; maybe no one had managed to survive, or, if they did, they had escaped, abandoning everything behind them. Adora was so absorbed in staring at that place, she didn’t notice someone was behind her, looking at her intently.  
  


“What are you doing here?” asked a girl, with a serious voice, but with a tone that made her sound sweet at the same time, which caused Adora to jump a little for the scare she caused her.  
  


Turning around, to see who was behind her, she was met face to face with a young woman. She looked a bit older than Adora, with a big burgundy robe, short and white hair, and deep purple eyes, which stared at her attentive, with distrust.  
  


“Oh my god, you almost killed me,” Adora said, a hand on her chest due to agitation, but the other girl kept her severe stare, a fact that made the blonde one think that, maybe, her hostess was not going to be super friendly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were behind me, my name is Adora,” she said, justifying herself and stretching her arm so they could be properly introduced, but the other girl did nothing but look at her up and down, analyzing her. “Do you guys greet each other some other way?” she asked, uncomfortable.  
  


“I asked you a question” was the elusive response at Adora's’, who was surprised at such hostility, but remembering that probably the people of this place had suffered a lot in hands of Horde Prime, making them distrustful of any stranger.  
  


“I’m sorry” she apologized again, this time more serious, as she stood uptight, “ME and my group came from Etheria to help you.”  
  


“And how do you think to do so?” asked the girl with an incredulous smile.  
  


“I’ll show you” she answered smiling, taking a step back and raising her hand, “For the honor of Grayskull” yelled Adora, transforming. The other girl stood there, surprised. “I got the ability to transform into She-ra, a legendary warrior…” started to explain Adora proudly.  
  


Bow, Glimmer, and Catra kept arguing, or at least they were until the latter became aware of the glow coming from the tower, causing her to shut up and search for Adora with her gaze, unable to find her nearby. A little nervous, she turned to let her friends know but stopped in her tracks realizing that all noises had vanished, only silence remaining. She could see Bow and Glimmer talking, but she couldn’t hear them. This altered her even more.  
  


“Thanks, kitty”, she heard all of sudden, almost like a whisper in her ear, with a voice that sounded terrifyingly familiar, since it was the same she perceived last night, in her dream.  
  


Immediately her hearing returned, and without wasting more time, walked over Bow and Glimmer, who were looking at her, awaiting some type of response.  
  


“Where’s Adora?” asked Catra worried and disturbed, interrupting the duo as they tried to scold her for something she didn’t make up, provoking them to shut up as well, to search for her, confused.  
  


“I don’t know” answered Bow, not understanding where she could have gone. “She was here just a moment ago…”  
  


“Catra, are you alright?” Glimmer asked the girl, seeing how pale and nervous she was.  
  


She didn’t answer, given that she believed to have an idea of Adora’s whereabouts, but before she could say it, a big animal pounced over them; without hesitation, Catra pushed Bow and Glimmer out of the way so as not to get crushed.

Adora tried to offer an explanation on who she and her friends were, their story, and the journey they’d embarked up until that moment, but the other girl didn’t appear very perceptive to it.  
  


“You’re She-ra?” asked interrupting the speech, with a victorious smile, “Finally” she murmured. Adora gave her a confused look, but before she could ask the meaning of that word, the mysterious girl quickly materialized a sword and went after her.  
  


She-ra noticed this just in time so that she could stop the attack with her own sword.  
  


“What are you doing,” she asked bewildered, but the other one just walked away a few meters, keeping eye contact with her intact smile.  
  


“Nice to meet you, She-ra,” she said as she charged a spell with her left hand, “my name is Eira” finally introduced herself, to then send another attack with her magic.  
  


Adora this time wasn’t fast enough with her reaction, that’s why her body hit the feeble wall behind her at full speed, creating a huge hole that made her collapsed against the ground harshly.  
  


The rest of her friends turned around automatically hearing the commotion, nonetheless, there wasn’t much they could do to help her, as they were on as many grave problems, trying to avoid the creature- standing across the field- to devour them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! How are you? This is the final of the first chapter (that’s practically an introduction). I hope you're liking it.  
> I Will be posting on twitter (@redliepard) and Instagram (@redliepardw) some desings of escenarios and some sketchs from new chacters, so if you want to see them, follow me.  
> Thanks again for be reading the story, we’ll see you on friday!  
> Written by: Oriana Ruiz Diaz  
> Traslated by: Micaela Agata  
> Twitter: @BlondePhoenixx


	3. Chapter 2: Nightmare (Part 1)

“Catra go help Adora!” yelled Bow while dodging another lunge.

“Are you sure?” asked her doubtful, the boy nodded focused on shooting an arrow at the animal.  
  


Catra, still feeling apprehensive, but without thinking too much, ran to where She-ra lay. Getting to see from the distance how a white-haired girl peeked over the hole that Adora was ejected a few moments ago.  
  


“We came to help!” continue to yell Adora, not noticing the ground below her started to crack.

“Yeah, cool. Good trip.” Answered Eira with a smile, watching from the tower.

Once again, She-ra was slow with her reaction, being that the floor started to collapse with no possibilities to run or hold herself from anywhere.

“Adora!” cried Catra.  
  


She sped up, but she was still too far away to help her. Although, for both the girl’s fortune, between the bushes, the hooded figure of a boy appeared and grabbed Adora’s arm, helping her up before the latter vanished in the enormous void created.

The boy had a striking physical resemblance with Eira, except for his eyes, which were green. He dressed in a burgundy suit with some black details, looking like a medieval archer.  
  


“My dear brother, why do you always spoil my fun?” asked Eira as she descended.

“You are using her, but you are not my sister, Laurel” he replied resentfully, making the girl smile and Adora looked confused, not getting why the man referred to her with a different name.  
  


The boy exchanged no more words, he unleashed his bow and darted, at full speed, an arrow to the sorceress. She took it with one hand, breaking it in half, to the boy’s frustration.  
  


“Way too slow and predict-“ started to say Eira in a jovial tone, but suddenly Catra appeared, taking her by surprise, and punch her hard in her face, provoking her to lose stability and get thrown meters away.

“That’s for pushing Adora and messing with my dreams!”  
  


The sorceress stood back up slowly, with a hand on her cheek and a surprising look at Catra.  
  


“You hit hard, kitty” she assured, to then teleport behind Catra, “I really didn’t expect that from you,” she said, with a voice more similar to the one Catra had heard in her nightmares, paralyzing her.  
  


Fortunately for her, before Eira could attack her, She-ra appeared on the scene, preventing her to accomplish it, and forcing her to teleport over the construction in front of them, to avoid another punch.

Adora was ready to jump to the attack once again, but she stopped when she heard Glimmer and Bow struggling with their opponent, making her turn around to look at them, then back at the sorcerer, unsure of what to do.  
  


“You should help your friends, She-ra” she advised smiling like she could read her mind. “We’ll meet each other again, but for now, I think it’s enough.”  
  


The girl disappeared as fast as she had appeared. Leaving a bitter taste on Adora, who stayed tense and a bit frustrated, however, there was nothing else to do. Without a second thought she, Catra, and the mysterious boy ran over to help Glimmer and Bow, ready to face a ferocious battle against such a terrible creature. Yet, their surprise was extreme as they noticed that the creature that, a couple of seconds ago wanted to devour them, had become a tiny and adorable feline.

Bow, who had bravely interposed in between the, up until that moment the terrible creature and Glimmer, to protect her, still kept his eyes closed, unaware of the change. Glimmer, who did observe it, walked slowly, and over the boy’s shoulder, she stared at the creature, which made sounds similar to a meow trying to gain their attention.  
  


“Oh my god,” said Glimmer tenderly, getting closer to the little animal. Bow opened his eyes confused. “And you wanted to eat us a second ago?” she asked as she picked it up, and the feline rubbed her as it purred.

“Glimmer, what are you doing?! Be careful!” yelled Bow, running to her side.

“But Bow, look!” she said as she brought the animal closer to him, yet the boy remained skeptical. “He won’t hurt us, is harmless.”

“Glimmer, two seconds ago he wanted to eat us!”

The queen of Etheria seemed to have completely forgotten about whatever had happened.

“My sister can control animals, it’s probable he attacked you for that reason” explained the stranger man, observing the small animal that kept enjoying the Glimmer’s love.

“And you are…?” asked Bow at seeing him.

“My name is Archie, I am the brother of the girl who attacked your friend.” he clarified, looking at Adora, who was standing at his side, alongside Catra, “By the way, I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault, you tried to help us, so thanks.” Reassured the archer. “I’m Bow, that’s Glimmer, those are Adora and Catra.

“You’re welcome, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you and I’d like to keep talking but if we don’t want to be attacked, we ought to move along to get to the village as soon as possible” Archie explained cordially, and the rest agreed.

“Bye, little friend” whispered Glimmer sadly, leaving the feline on the ground and watching it go away, getting lost in the breadth of the vegetation.  
  


With no further delay, the new group of five started to walk, guided by Archie, who opened the way through the jungle with a machete. The rest felt extremely curious, they wished to ask a lot of questions, but none of them dare to break the ice, so they walked calmly and quietly, listening to just the birches falling and some other bird around them. This was so until Adora posed her attention in what seemed to be houses made of dirt, stopping and walking over, intrigued.  
  


“What’s this?” she asked, her hand inching closer to touch it.  
  


Archie, seeing what she was about to do, stopped in his tracks, and ran to stopped her.  
  


“Don’t you dare do that!” he warned as he pushed her away.

“Why?” Adora stared at the guy like he was overreacting until she saw how a gigantic look-alike ant came out of it, making her scream in terror. “What is that?!” she asked terrified, hiding behind Bow, who wasn’t far better than her.  
  


Catra witnessed the scene quite entertained, but Glimmer appeared to be just like the other two.  
  


“The Punquis get extremely violent if someone touches their home, and these are so big because they expect their victim to get in to…”

“We get it!” interrupted Bow, Adora, and Glimmer even more horrified by picturing the scene.

“If that’s the case, then let’s move along, but please don’t touch anything without asking me first” he warned as Adora and Bow nodded quickly like two children.

“Oh, Adora, I can’t lose you from my sight for two seconds that you are trying to enter the trap of some alien bug with an adorable name,” retorted Catra, faking indignation, while she placed her elbow on the girl’s shoulder, laughing at the bizarre situation.

“Well, excuse me, an expert on alien insects, but at least I can dodge a luminous spider web.” Said Adora, containing her laughter.

“What…?”  
  


Catra couldn’t finish her question that she saw herself being covered by the web; it was quite sticky, so it was difficult to take it off. When she finally managed, she noticed a small spider staring at her from her hand, this made her let out a wheeze as she shook to get rid of it, then she walked over to Adora, staring at her angrily as if this was all her fault. Although nothing became of it, because Archie stopped in his tracks putting the group on alert mode.  
  


“I think it will be best to camp in this abandoned town, nearby” he explained as he looks up at the sky, which was already all dark and filled with stars, “We still have some stretch to do and it won’t be a good idea to do so without light… and cold.” He added grabbing a branch, lighting it on fire with an artifact, “If you’re able, try to collect some wood, it might be a tough night unless we are prepared.”

“Don’t tell us about it, we already experienced it” said Catra angrily, side-eyeing Bow, who immediately felt alluded by it.

“How many times do I need to apologize?!” exclaimed the boy with his broken voice.

“Enough Catra, get over it,” asked Glimmer, “Besides it wasn’t so bad” she remembered with a smile how cozy she had been with Bow.

“Yes, because you were with your…”

“Could you guys stop fighting, Archie is already moving” interrupted Adora, who was a bit ahead of them, pointing at the young man, barely visible in the thickness of the jungle by his small flame.  
  


Catra and Glimmer stared at each other with play pretend enmity, sighing simultaneously. Then they hurried in their steps, same as Bow, trying to reach Adora and their guide.

It wasn’t long enough until they got to the place, proving that Archie hadn’t lie about it, and neither did he about the weather. The coldness was already present and it had even frozen the plants slightly. Which again, differed with the extremely hot temperature of the day, and it was even lower than that of the previous night.

The group entered the town, which seemed to had been abandoned without prior notice; there was furniture, clothes, paintings, instruments, and all sorts of intact belongings. The friend squad observed everything with some heartache. Archie looked at it as well, and he couldn’t help but feel a big nostalgia at remembering all the moments he had spent in that town, playing with his friends and being happy, without feeling any sort of worry or fear at anything.

Adora saw something on the floor, she kneeled balancing the wood she was carrying, to grab something that caught her attention. A small doll that had seen better days. Now, it was covered in red dirt, just like the rest of the abandoned stuff. Her mind drifted away for a few seconds by picturing a young boy dropping it, later unable to come back for it.  
  


“What happened here? It doesn’t look that they were under attack” asked Adora, the same thing the rest was thinking, given the good state of the surrounding structures.  
  


Archie stopped and opened the door of a giant house, and then he looked at her.  
  


“When the invasion arrived, all the faraway villages were evacuated and taken to the main center” he explained, looking everywhere and rememorizing like it happened yesterday.

“Because Horde Prime was unpredictable to us, we took advantage of his seconds of peace to translate everybody as quick as possible, so most people didn’t have the time to grab their stuff…”

“We get it, it was terrible for us too” sympathized Bow, remembering as well everything they been through.  
  


Archie just answered with a sad smile, the boy would have like to resume the conversation, but this couldn’t happen since water drops started to fall, accompany by some loud thunders.  
  


“We should get in” he advised, checking at the ugly turning weather.  
  


Adora grabbed the firewood with both hands again, and obeyed like the rest, entering that cold and dark home. Archie immediately started to lit more torches, attempting to generate some light.  
  


“You can drop the wood over there” he pointed at a majestic chimney,” but keep half of it for your rooms”

“Our rooms?” asked Glimmer puzzled, doing what they were told, Archie walked over to light the chimney.

“There are two rooms; one with two single beds, and the other, at the end of the hallway, with one.” Explained the host, pointing to the right place “Someone will have to share, or sleep in the ground… which I’d advise against…” he said, while observing a tiny insect walking on the floor. “Hmm… I don’t remember seeing one of this kind” he said, holding it, as the rest stared at him grossed out, the bug tried its best to escape from his touch and the boy inspected it attentively, searching for familiarities until he finally found it. “Ah, I know what you are” he affirmed as he dropped it where he found it, and then he faced the squad, that stared at him disgusted. “He is harmless” Archie clarified, innocently.

“Yeah, whatever you say” answered Catra still grossed out, looking as the bug escape under a door frame.

“Where will you sleep?” asked Adora.  
  


Archie looked at her and pointed at a large couch at the end of the room, behind a round and big table.  
  


“This place is not too bad, because this is where I usually come or where my people come when they’re out hunting or scavenging resources” he explained, as he sat in that comfortable seat covered in fur. “So don’t be afraid to use whatever is in here” added with his raspy voice while he took a water bottle, sipping from it. “Want some?”  
  


They all looked at each other, and, desperately, they took the recipient to each drink from it.  
  


“Thanks so much, I felt like I was gonna die of thirst” acknowledged Bow.

“I also have some food, if you’d like” offered Archie, taking some fruits, and some other snacks from a small purse he carried on his waist.

“That’d be great!” yelled Adora with her mouth filled with water, her stomach rumbling.  
  


The squad, not waiting much, started munching what Archie gave them. No doubt they were hungry, especially Adora, who had to be controlled by the rest, so she wouldn’t eat all of it mindlessly.

While they dine under a roof solid enough to contain the rain, Eira found herself walking under it. The weather worsened each time, and it didn’t appear to want to improve in the slightest. The sorceress was protected by her hoodie, but even this started to leak a little, making her shiver at the cold. Although, to her luck, she was close to her destination; some buildings she used as a refuge, not far from where she faced the friend squad.

Upon arrival, she entered as fast as she could, removing her soaking cape and lighting a fire. Eira stood near the glowing flame, rubbing her hands on her arms, trying to give herself some warmth.

In the middle of the silence, she couldn’t avoid remembering what happened some hours ago; her cheek still hurt due to Catra’s hit, and, at rubbing slightly her bruise with her hand, she let out a small whimper.  
  


“She hits much harder than I expected” she murmured, putting a bit more weight with her cold hand, trying to relieve the pain a little bit.  
  


“I’m sorry; I didn’t realize she was close” she heard Laurel say as if she was physically there, but actually only she could hear her.  
  


“No, it’s also my fault” Eira sighed while she sat on her improvised bed, staring at the fire.  
  


“Should we stopped challenging her?” asked Laurel, while Eira lay down, covering herself with a few blankets, “Because it’s interesting how much she lost control, we should take advantage of that… but if you don’t want to put yourself at risk, I’ll get it.”  
  


“Yes, you can do anything you want, if you think is a good plan, I’ll follow you” Eira accepted, a little tired, with her eyes closed, she drew a shape in the air which created a small gleam of light, “But try to not get me beat up again,” she asked her with a smile, feeling like she was about to fall sleep.  
  


“Deal. Sweet dreams, princess.”  
  


Eira smiled again, and without much difficulty, she fell asleep; the confrontation against the friend squad left her exhausted, and things looked unpromising from now on, as such, she didn’t want to spend her valuable rest time thinking of anything she had spoken with Laurel a hundred times already. Besides, sleeping was her second favorite activity, after magic. It had always been, even when the usage of the first didn’t imply what it did now, so any excuse to do so was more than welcome.

Many kilometers away, the friend squad was finishing eating. Adora, who had finished first, kept ogling the food on the table, still hungry, but aware that the food didn’t belong to her.  
  


“Here” offered Catra, giving her the last portion of her plate, faking disinterest.  
  


Adora looked at her with shiny eyes, emotional, but stopped before grabbing it.  
  


“Are you sure?” she asked politely, even if she was dying to eat it.

“Yep”

“Thanks” she appreciated with a big smile on her face, and still a bit emotional, she started eating happily.  
  


Catra, who was looking at her side-eye, couldn’t help but smile; Bow and Glimmer witnessed the scene, touched, but when Catra noticed it, she directed a not-so-friendly stare at them, keeping them to make any comment about it. They got the message and kept eating ignoring the tender scene they watched.

They chat entertained about superficial stuff about Zeiren, and about Etheria too, until Adora suddenly remembered how Archie had called Eira “Laurel”, something that at that moment confused her a lot, but up until that moment she didn’t have the time to resolve, so she decided to seize the moment and do it.  
  


“May I ask something?” finally asked, interrupting the conversation, and making all the eyes focus on her and Archie, who seemed unprepared.

“Sure.”

“What happened here? And who’s Laurel?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you’re liking the story. This entire chapter is, without doubt, one of my favorites and in the second part there going to be some interesting revelations…  
> I want to ask you a something, Do you prefer to read the chapter this way, split in two, or would you rather the whole chapter per week? So far I chose to split it so it wouldn´t be so long, but if you preferred it the other way I can change it.
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday!
> 
> Written by: Oriana Ruiz Diaz (@RedLiepard (twitter) / @ redliepardw (ig))  
> Translated by: Micaela Agata (@BlondePhoenixx)


	4. Chapter 2: Nightmare (Part 2)

"What happened here? And who's Laurel?"

The young man knew that question was inevitable, so he had tried to prep himself during their journey, but facing the past was never easy, much less when that meant remembering stuff that still hurt him.

"The story is long, I must explain other things too, and maybe you are tired..."

"No problem, if you want to talk, we'll listen" answered Bow.

"Okay" Archie sighed loudly and, maintaining his eyes on the fire, he started to answer Adora's question, "This planet was full of resources, we used them, but we respected nature so she would respect us, for that, we wouldn't take more than we needed. We never expected war, but still, we had soldiers in case of need; but they weren't as technologically advanced as in other planets." He explained, his head transporting him to those good old days of peace. He smiled, and looked back at the fire, "Neither did we need them. Because we had amazing sorceresses like my mother-the queen- or my grandmother; and great warriors like my father the king-. As far to Eira and me, we were both apprentices of my grandmother, I was still young but my sister, a bit older than me, already showed signs of being a powerful wizard, quickly overcoming any challenge put in her way." He affirmed proudly, as the rest listened attentively" We all lived in peace and harmony, until Horde Pride came..." he said, erasing any joy his face showed moments before, "He thought we were wasting potential, and he claimed he'll teach us how to really reach it, but of course, we didn't want that, because that implied abusing our land, which we wouldn't accept under any circumstance, so he, seeing we wouldn't follow what he asked for, started to attack. At first, we resisted a little bit, but it got worse each time, to the point where it didn't matter what we did, we always lost. We didn't know what to do any more until my grandmother remembered an old tale her ancestors once told her..."

"What tale?" asked Glimmer completely absorbed in the story.

"One about a warrior that Eternians were afraid of, and who had been locked in the shadows, under their command, by one of my forefathers. What my grandmother knew, was that our ancestors helped the scientists of Eternia to understand a bit more about magic, as they work on a very important project, which would be used in another planet" Adora looked at him curiously, wondering if maybe that project had something to do with the Heart of Etheria, "It was in the middle of this, that the warrior appeared, destroying everything at her sight, without no one able to stop her, that's why they asked for my family's help and they, not knowing why they were condemning her to that dark fate, locked her up."

"Laurel..." whispered Adora.

"Exactly. We didn't know what was going to happen, but we didn't have much choice, so they had to bring her here, and for that, they needed a bearer, which happened to be, sadly, my sister."

"Why her?" asked Bow.

"Because she was the strongest, the youngest, and who could control magic the best besides my grandma, and clearly she didn't doubt to help because that's what her town needed" he answered sadly, "they managed to do the spell, but Laurel put a condition, if she helped us, my sister would need to assist her to complete her revenge, and, Eira couldn't deny her, Laurel was, without a shadow of a doubt, an exceptional warrior. And with the power of my sister, they were unstoppable." He recognized remembering that one moment when he first met her. "Horde Prime had no other choice but to retreat, he had no chance against the two of them, and, having persisted, they would have surely destroyed him and his whole army" he confirmed while the rest looked at him, surprised.

"Horde Prime did this to your planet?" asked Catra, confounded.

"No, it was the magic used by Eira to keep Laurel around during the fight and as well in the revenge of the latter..." explained Archie, his eyes set on the fire once more; he still couldn't get over the whole ordeal nor the anger it had caused him.

"But Horde Prime said he destroyed Eternia..." Adora remembered his words, making her feel jumbled by the narration until an idea crossed her mind, something she hoped would be denied by the young man, " Did Laurel..." Archie beheld at Adora, who stopped her question, gulping nervously, "Did Laurel join forces with Horde Prime?" asked finally, feeling her body tremble with anger. Adora couldn't understand what may have caused Laurel to form such a horrible alliance, in her mind; there was nothing to justify it.

"Yes," he stated seriously, a bit embarrassed once he noticed how the rest stared at him, impacted. "She gave him two options, either they'll destroy him or he'll help her commit her revenge, so he clearly chose the option that benefited him; so he was able to destroy them all, except for one that got away..." he remarked while he raised his gaze, placing it on Adora again.

"Me..." she murmured.

"Yes, and she was unable to go after you, because that would have meant to let our planet deprived of magic, making it collapsed. So Eira gathered forces against Laurel, she stopped her and they came back here. My mother and grandmother, however, got prepared for the worst not knowing what might happen to Eternia, so they decided to lock the magic needed so the planet could still function and hid it, stopping Laurel to try to search for you with Horde Prime's technology." Archie lower his eyes to the ground, observing the dark wooden floor, "The price to pay was my grandmother, she couldn't take it, and she had to sacrifice herself" he said shutting his eyes and fists strongly, holding back tears, as the rest remained shaken up. The young man breathed deeply, trying to let go of his feelings, then looked serious at Adora again, "Now that you're here, Laurel won't stop until she gets that magic to destroy you."

"I'll stop her" stated Adora, serious and confident, "But it's there a way to get your sister back?" she asked worried, because, although she wanted to defeat Laurel, she wanted to avoid hurting any more members of Archie's family.

"There's a spell, but the book containing it is hidden in a place that only a great sorcerer..."

"I can do it" assured Glimmer, standing up from her seat, "We would defeat Laurel and get your sister back" she sentenced as she checked on the rest, they nodded assertively.

"I truly hope you're able... or else we are lost" answered Archie sighing.

Bow walked over him, patting him in the back; a gesture that made Archie looked at him, confused.

"Don't worry, we'd saved other planets and also defeated Horde Prime... Well, She-ra did it" he corrected himself, proudly staring at her friend.

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"You were able to destroy Horde Prime?" asked Archie amazed.

"We almost got brainwashed and die trying, but yeah, we did it" answer Catra, a bit haughty.

"So I think I can have a little faith in you guys," he said with a small smile, putting his hand over Bow's shoulder, while the rest smile because their support seemed to have some effect. "Either way, if we want to accomplish such a challenge, I think we need to call it a day, tomorrow we'd still need to walk a little bit more, and you would be introduced to the Queen."

"Not arguing here," said Glimmer, who started to show signs of tiredness, "Catra, you'll sleep with Adora, right?" she asked, making the aforementioned blush, "nothing else to add, goodnight."

With that being said, she walked away before Catra could retort, leaving her mouth-hanging while Glimmer grabbed Bow's arm and dragged him. Catra looked at Adora incredulous, but the latter was smiling, so she just decided to drop it to not cause any nonsensical fight; after all, it wasn't like wanted to sleep with anyone else but her childhood friend.

Everyone headed to their assigned dorm rooms. The rain became more and more intense, and the temperature kept dropping, so both couples tried, with the remaining firewood, to lit a small fire in their rooms' chimney. An orange blaze inundated the surroundings coming from Glimmer and Bow's room; but the situation was different for Adora, who battle trying to start a fire, as Catra looked at her expectantly, lying in her bed.

"Adora, do you want me to call Glimmer? She could light it up in a blink" she suggested for the third time.

"No, I can" she answered stubbornly, rubbing two rocks against each other, completely focused but uselessly.

Catra rolled her eyes, lying on her back with her arms stretched up, she noticed the small light coming from the torch Archie gave them. At this sight, she almost jumped to tell Adora, but the scene of the latter trying to lit the fire was entertaining to her, so she decided to lie down again and see how long will it take her to notice.

"I'm thankful we never got lost in the forest, Captain," said Catra, remembering their days in the Fright Zone, laughing briefly.

"I haven't done this in in while, in another time it would have been different..."

"Sure, whatever you say..." replied the girl smiling, then she yawned.

Catra stared back at the ceiling. Every once in a while, it while glow up due to the thunders entering the window, and also because of the small torch that Adora still ignored, the lightning showed the dismal decoration of cobwebs, and what seemed to be an antiquated light system that didn't work anymore.

Catra got sleepier as the seconds went by; the sound of the rain and the crunching of the rocks started to work as a sedative. Her eyes shut involuntarily, and despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep up the fight, quickly falling asleep. At first, there was only darkness, but as soon as she fell asleep, she began dreaming with a sweet scene; where she found herself with Adora, in a beautiful place in the middle of the jungle, of that pretty planet they were visiting. Adora was resting on Catra's legs, as the latter tenderly caressed her hair, looking at her with an expression full of love. Such a sweet scene made the girl feel even more relaxed, but soon the scenery changed completely. She was no longer with Adora, nor she was in the pretty place, she could barely distinguish anything because of the smoke that started to appear. The latter wouldn't stop spreading around, filling her lungs and making her cough.

Worried, and clueless about the situation, she started to run, searching for Adora everywhere.

"Adora!" she yelled as she coughed once more, realizing the smoke came from the houses around her, which she couldn't quite make up, but they seemed eerily familiar to the buildings that were in Zeiren. This disturbed her even more, so she kept awkwardly searching as she started to hear screaming from people. "Adora, please, answer..." She asked, almost to herself, overwhelmed but still walking, covering her nose.

It was getting harder to keep going through the smoke, and when she felt she was about to collapse, hopeless, soon a golden glow caught her attention; Catra, without thinking too much, started to run in that direction.

"Adora! Is that you?" she asked, but there was no need for an answer. She- ra was lying on the ground, gravely beaten. Catra kneeled down in front of her, and held her tight, "Adora, what happened?!" she asked desperately, but to no avail. Adora was entirely unconscious. "Please, talk to me!" Catra begged in tears, looking around for help, but no one was there, or at least that's what she thought until she noticed how a shadow started to form behind the smoke.

Catra narrowed her eyes to try to get a better look, as she coughed, unsure if it was a hallucination or someone real, soon she was able to see clearly the silhouette of a woman. She had long, black hair; glowing amber eyes, and an armor similar to She-ras', but in black and gold, with a cape and a sword of the latter color. Catra didn't know who that person was, but she could now visualize her face more clearly, and the big, malign smile she was forming. This alerted her, as she hardened her attempts to lift Adora, fruitless.

The air felt thicker, the energy of that place had suffered a sudden change, making her feel an intense pressure in her body, paralyzing her.

"Hello, kitty" greeted gnarly the unknown warrior, with a deep voice, looking at her with a certain air of superiority.

Catra looked up, terrified, trying to let her sharp nails out to attack her, but she couldn't even raise her arm. The warrior laughed at her poor state.

"Who are you?" asked Catra, maintaining eye contact while she saw the girl raising her sword, placing it over Catra's shoulders.

"You'll know soon enough." She answered with a smile, raising her sword, to clearly, finish both her and Adora. Catra, by reflex, closed her eyes instants before she received the attack.

"NO!" she yelled, waking up agitated, crisped, and sweaty.

Adora, who walked over happily to let her know she finally managed to set the fire, looked at her worryingly.

"Catra, are you okay?"

The girl didn't respond immediately, she needed a few seconds to calm her heart, still beating hard. She breathed deeply, trying to make sense of what had happened.

"I had a nightmare."

"Want to tell me about it?" asked Adora, looking at her comprehensively as she sat by her side, placing one hand over Catra's shoulder.

"There was a girl... she looked at She-ra, but she was evil and dark," she said, trying to envision the dream, Adora looked at her puzzled. "The energy felt horrible around her. I don't know where I was, but my surroundings were destroyed, there was fire everywhere and people screaming. I was looking for you; I walked for what felt like hours and when I finally found you..."

The memory of seeing She-ra so badly injured made her stop abruptly, she placed her hand on Adora's face like she was trying to make sure she was truly okay, and everything was nothing but a dream. Adora looked at her still worrying, but she decided not to ask any more about it. She clearly understood what Catra saw, and if that anguished her so much, maybe the best would be to drop the matter.

Catra shook her head in an attempt to erase the images in her mind. Adora got a little bit closer, delicately hugging her. Catra tensed up, still in defense mode, but upon feeling the familiar warmth, she quickly relaxed.

"Everything's fine," she said with her sweet voice, they remained like that for a few seconds. Catra smiled listening to Adora's heartbeat, purring involuntarily, which made the latter smile, "There's only one She-ra, and that's me, no one would hurt us. I won't allow it." She added calmly, carefully removing herself from Catra's tight embrace, so she could look at her in the eyes while she placed both her hands on Catra's shoulders. "Besides, the only thing that could turn me evil was that weird First One's technology, but we already destroyed it..."

"But it wasn't you, and it felt so real...."

Catra stared at Adora, thankful the previously lived was nothing but a horrible nightmare. The blonde-haired softened at Catra's worried state, so she placed a hand on her cheek, the other girl let go of her tension when she felt the contact.

"Everything will be fine, I'm here, I'm fine" Catra opened her eyes slowly, smiling at her. Adora continued, "We listened to too many stories when we got here, I bet those influenced you," she said trying to appease her, then she kissed her on the forehead, "Let's go to sleep, okay? Tomorrow we'll continue the hike, and I am not planning to carry you this time" she warned her, smiling sassily. Catra nodded, and they lay down on the bed, which was a bit more comfortable to those in the Fright Zone but had no ground to stand on the ones they had on Etheria.

They were ready to sleep when suddenly Catra remembered the fire incident, so she couldn't help but ask:

"Adora, how did you light the fireplace?"

The girl turned around to face her, a bit surprised by the unexpected question.

"I did it scraping the two rocks" she exclaimed, proudly. "Although I hurt my hands a little" she added observing the small cuts. Catra let out a laugh, "What are you laughing at?"

"Adora, you idiot" the aforementioned gave her a confused look, unable to understand her comment, while Catra wiped her tears trying to stop laughing, "Really? You didn't notice?"

"No, what are you talking about?"

"The torch, Adora," she said, pointing at it and starting to laugh again when Adora followed her finger.

"And why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"I'm sorry, I thought you'd figured it out faster, and also, I fell asleep," she said, trying to shield herself to keep laughing, but Adora was offended. Catra, at seeing this, snorted and rolled her eyes, "Oh c'mon, it's not such a big deal, you should have seen yourself, it was very fun..."

"We should sleep" she sentenced shortly, turning her back against Catra, who, leaving her pride aside, cut the distance between them, leaving a small kiss on her cheek. Adora blushed.

"I'm sorry, don't be mad, I promise not to laugh at you anymore."

Catra looked at her expectantly, with a smile, knowing that Adora would forgive her like she always did, but this time she took her sweet time to respond, generating a bit of tension in the air. Until, finally, Adora sighed resigned, and turn around to look at her.

"Whatever, it was dumb, let's sleep." She pleaded while yawning, "Today was exhausting"

"Yes, I hope I can..." Catra whispered worryingly, her smile fading at the memory of her nightmare.

The girl curled near Adora, shutting her eyes tight, waiting and hoping with all of her might not dream anything similar or worse than she did before.

Catra wasn't the only one dreaming that night; Eira, for the first time in a long while, started to see weird scenes in her head, like a movie playing as she rested. It seemed to be an old memory of Laurel, something that never happened before because, despite the warrior telling her all her life, Eira was unable to see the past in that way.

On what appeared to be a remembrance, Laurel was entering a hall of arms, accompanied by two guards. Judging by her face, it wasn't of her liking being there. Once inside, all but her greeted with a small reverence to the man waiting inside. He walked over, staring with disgust at the girl's defiance, and with a hand gesture, he motioned the guards to leave. That person irradiated plenty of respect by just looking at him: he had a white beard, very long and properly groomed and, a uniform filled with medals telling of his accomplishments, and the important role he occupied.

But none of this seemed to matter to Laurel, who wasn't afraid to show her own disgust that this meeting caused her.

"I apologize for my outfit, General, but I was training. For what reason do you request my services?" she asked, mocking seriousness. Perhaps, in another time, the man would have pointed out her insolence and her taunting tone, but this time he preferred to give her an angry stare, and not respond to her provocations.

"I'd like to introduce you to someone" Laurel gave him a genuinely surprised look, "This person will be your replacement." He sentenced without delay, rushing to not be interrupted by the warrior.

"My replacement?"

"Yes, your replacement in the Heart of Etheria's mission."

Laurel couldn't quite believe what he just said, thinking it must have been a tasteless joke.

"Are you serious?" she asked, incredulously smiling.

"Indeed. We consider that, with your training, this person would be more efficient for the expected job."

The General was prepared for the fit of rage that was going to explode on Laurel, so he had previously taken into consideration any extreme reaction she could have against him, that's why the room was filled with guards, waiting for an order. The latter was, instead, completely ignored by Laurel, who, against all odds, was flabbergasted by such news.

"This has to be a joke... I've been preparing for this mission my whole life! And now a rookie is going to replace me?! I just conquered an entire planet, I am the most qualified person for this job!" she yelled, upset, starting to raise her tone, alerting the guards.

"Control yourself. You'll do what you're told, and that's it. Understood?" he ordered firmly while climbing down the stairs dividing them, "If they consider this girl is the chosen for this mission, so be it, and I expect you to deliver your part."

Plenty of people feared Laurel, but not this man. Like her, he had no problem addressing her threateningly.

Laurel felt like she was going to explode from anger. But she knew better of herself, so she let out a long a loud sigh, and tried to speak again, a bit calmer this time.

"As you order, General"

"That's what I wanted to hear"

"When will I have the pleasure of meeting this powerful warrior you speak of?" asked Laurel with a tone of sarcasm.

The man once again ignored her taunts, and signaled to let the new girl in. laurel, not expecting the moment to happen right away, turn around to see who she was. Expecting someone strong and intimidating, instead, she found that the person crossing the entrance was a girl a bit younger than her; with a big, charming smile, the exact opposite of the mental image Laurel had just created.

The new girl walked until she was facing Laurel. The latter was speechless, not by the indignation of being substituted by a novice, but because of how captivated she felt. The young girl irradiated energy far different from anyone Laurel had ever crossed path with; and, for a split second, she thought they were right. Maybe she was someone truly special.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Mara" she introduced herself with such a sweet and kind voice, that Laurel could no longer maintain her anger, then she lifted her hand to shake the girls'.

"Mine's Laurel" she replied clearing her throat, shaking her hand.

"I hope we get along, Laurel," Mara said honestly, smiling, a gesture that made the other girl demolish her guard entirely.

"Likewise..." she stammered.

Eira witnessed the memory before her, amazed and a little moved; she knew that story but never before had the chance to almost lived it, and also, to see Mara. This made everything have more sense to her.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts; she didn't notice at first that Laurel was right beside her. Both stood in a dark place, specifically the limbo in which the warrior was held, prisoner.

"I'm sorry, I don't know if you wanted me to see that..."

"It's fine, you already know so much about me," said Laurel smiling, although she showed certain signs of sadness.

"This is a first..." Eira referred to the recent experience she just lived, still intrigued by how clear that memory had been, "Why do you think it happened?"

"I suppose She-ra's apparition made my memories more present, but I don't really mind, somehow I've gotten used to reviving them" Eira gave her a puzzled look, not quite catching what she meant, Laurel noticed this: "The place I've been trapped for so long was a constant nightmare; I lived my happiest memories over and over again, and so did the more painful ones..."

Laurel's voice cracked remembering such experience, for it had been the very hell. She couldn't do more than fixed her eyes to the floor, frustrated, but unwilling to cry. Eira emphasized her friend's emotions, but she understood that her own feelings weren't a quarter as bad as everything Laurel has ever gone through.

"I promise that when we defeat them, with our new earn powers, I will try to bring you to our dimension again. I don't want you to stay here, and I won't allow for you to be sent back to that place" she affirmed, breaking the silence and getting Laurel's grateful attention, who smiled.

"Thank you Eira, I hope we made it..."

"We will don't doubt it" Eira sentenced, smiling too.

Laurel would have wanted to be far more grateful and sentimental; after all, Eira did too much for her, more than she could have ever imagined or expected to deserve, but the words and opening up to others was never her strong suit, especially after Mara... that's why she hoped Eira could understand her beyond words, and for that to be good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I hope you had a great weekend and that you liked the end of this chapter ♥.
> 
> I have to admit that everything related to Mara was difficult to write because it made me a little sentimental hahaha
> 
> A curious and funny fact is that the scene of the torch and Adora actually came from the fact that I wrote the scene and I didn’t realized that, when they entered the room, I clarified that they entered with the torch. When my girlfriend read it, she emphasized it to me and, when I went to correct it, I found it fun to make a kind of parallel with what had happened to me and Adora hahaha.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, see you on Friday!
> 
> Written by: Oriana Ruiz Diaz (@RedLiepard (Twitter) / @RedLiepardw (Instagram))  
> Translated by: Micaela Agata (@BlondePhoenixx)


	5. Chapter 3: Monsters (Part 1)

In the morning everybody met up in the main room where Archie decided to spend the night; he wasn’t there, but the group didn’t notice it yet. Bow and Glimmer were splendid and brimming with energy, as usual, however, that wasn’t the case for Adora and Catra, who showed big bags under their eyes and couldn’t stop yawning.  
  


“What happened to you?” asked Bow surprised at the sight of his friends.  
  


“Catra had nightmares and moved a lot” responded Adora sleepily, looking to her partner who returned nasty eyes.  
  


“I’m sorry but sadly, I can´t control what I dream,” Catra said a bit defensively, “Besides I wasn’t the only one moving. Seemingly someone dreamt she was fighting” she explained looking at Adora.  
  


“That’s not true!”  
  


Bow and Glimmer witnessed the scene unfolding before them very entertained. Something that Catra, noticing this, didn’t like at all.  
  


“What are you laughing at?” asked sharply, causing the two to stop their laughter, but before the couple could respond, Archie interrupted the scene, barging into the room through the main door, catching everybody’s attention.  
  


“Good morning” he greeted politely. In his arms, he carried a cloth that had something on the inside that caused weight.  
  


“What’s that?” asked Glimmer first as the rest paid attention, Archie walked to the table in the middle of the room and dropped its contents on it.  
  


“I went to gather something to eat before parting” he explained with a smile, the pile of odd-looking fruits resting before him, “Eat without worries, I already did on the way” Everybody’s faces lit up immediately and, except for Catra who walked slowly, they ran happily towards the food. Upon arriving, Catra took a seat beside Adora, side-eyeing the stuff on the table.  
  


“Thanks very much” They thanked almost at the same time. Archie simply did a small reverence and smile at them.  
  


“If you’ll excuse me,” he said, walking to the exit, “I will prepare and gather some more things. Once you’re done, we’ll meet outside… Is that ok?” he checked on them before leaving.  
  


“Excellent” replied Bow.  
  


With that, Archie left, allowing them to have breakfast peacefully. The boy was amazed at how much fruit he managed to recollect, and he wondered if perhaps, his planet was returning to what once was.

As Adora ate as if she never did before, Catra couldn’t even watch the food; she was still worried and anguished for the dreams she had the previous night.  
  


“What is it?” asked Adora, her mouth full with food.  
  


“You shouldn’t speak with your mouth open” replied Catra mean-spirited, while she rested her head on her arms. Adora sighed slightly, swallowed, and then tried again.  
  


“I’m sorry” she apologized between laughs, “Is it because of the nightmare?”  
  


“What nightmare?” asked Glimmer curiously, interrupting Catra as Bow gave them a similar stare.  
  


“Catra had a nightmare with an evil and dark She-ra” Adora said exaggerating like she was telling a horror story, Catra gave her a nasty look.  
  


“It was very re-” she tried to justify herself, but before she could, Adora grabbed a piece of fruit and shoved it in her mouth.  
  


“You should eat to gain some energy,” joked the girl laughing, trying to soften her, but Catra looked murderous.  
  


“Maybe you got suggested by our encounter with Eira,” said Glimmer, who had listened attentively, also trying to get Catra to calm down.  
  


“Also Archie’s story…,” added Bow.  
  


“That’s what I said,” agreed Adora still eating. Catra sighed, resigned because apparently, no one took her seriously; although she did have her doubts about it, maybe her friends were right, maybe it wasn’t the same as the dream she had on the ship.  
  


“Don’t worry, we’ll solve what we need to solve here, and everything will be okay” said Bow positively with a smile.  
  


“Yeah, I don’t know” replied Catra staring at the food with disdain, but finally starting to eat. She no longer wished to speak about the matter; perhaps in that way she would forget about it.  
  


The breakfast resumed in between trivial conversations until they were all done, and after stretching a little, they retired from the house that had served as a refuge for the night. The heat was as present as the day before, despite the nights so cold it froze the plants a little bit.

It didn’t take so much walking until they found Archie, resting below a tree, a few meters away. He, upon seeing them, got up and walked over to the group.  
  


“Are you guys ready?” asked the boy.  
  


“Always!” replied Bow energetically. Energy Catra and Adora wished they had at that moment.  
  


Like this, they started the last section of the hike before arriving in the town. But despite being way closer, the high temperatures, the humidity, the red dirt- sticking everywhere- and the bugs, made it feel like an eternity. Bow and Glimmer walked at the same speed as Archie, asking him about the planet. In the meantime, Adora and Catra dragged themselves a bit behind, slow-paced and with big bags under their eyes, not even bothering to talk to each other; they were way too exhausted to initiate a dumb conversation.

Everything was normal until Catra started to feel what, at first, was a small headache, something that made her stop her slow walking. The rest didn’t notice instantly, and also she tried to keep going like it wasn’t a big deal, but shortly after the pain got far more intense, sharp. It made her fall on her knees, as she held her head, groaning. This sound alerted the rest, who stopped on their tracks and turned around, worried. But immediately they remembered all the other times in which Catra faked a never-ending amount of accidents; so they remained distrustful.  
  


“Oh, c’mon Catra, we are not falling for that again,” said Glimmer rolling her eyes, Adora and Bow smiled in agreement, but Catra wouldn’t get up, nor removed the hands of her head.  
  


“I’m not lying” she replied with gritted teeth, letting out another groan, this made the group and Archie, who studied the situation attentively, walk to her.  
  


Catra tried to get up but was unable; her gaze turned blurry, but instead of passing out as she expected, she started to have little visions, seemingly memories, that didn’t belong here. It was similar to the experience of wearing Horde Primes’ chip, who, by the way, she was seeing at that very moment. It appeared as that memory belonged to Laurel since it fitted Archie’s story. The warrior was walking towards the throne where Horde Prime sat- a place Catra wouldn’t forget so easily-, easily destroying all of his clones in the way as if they were as light and fragile as paper. With ease and an envious speed, she defeated Horde Prime. Laurel was in front of him, threatening him with the same sword Catra saw in previous dreams, but that’s where the scene ended; then she jumped to other memories that seemed to be the fight with the First Ones. It was all war, combats until the chaos stopped too, and, suddenly, Catra saw an unknown girl smiling at her as she turns into She-ra, with almost the same armor Adora used to wear, and even the same sword.  
  


“You shouldn’t be seeing this” she heard clearly in her ear the voice of the warrior, who didn’t sound happy at all, then everything turned black.  
  


“Catra!” she heard Adora screaming, as she fell to the ground, losing consciousness on her arms.  
  


In the midst of this, Eira was sleeping peacefully, resting her weight in a big, voluptuous tree, taking advantage of the shadow it casts. The tiredness she felt for using her powers and also having to maintain Laurel, exhausted her more than it normally would, besides, she couldn’t afford to use magic freely, especially when it was a limited as this one, and they still had a long way to go.  
  


“Eira…” she heard the raspy voice of her partner, interrupting her lumber.  
  


“What is it?” asked groggily, slowly opening her eyes a bit blinded by the strong sunlight.  
  


“Catra started seeing memories of mine and…”  
  


“Who?” interrupted still fazed, not remembering who Laurel was talking about.  
  


“The girl with the ears…” Eira remained clueless, “Who came with She-ra…” she added, but the sorceress still couldn’t point her out, she yawned.  
  


“I’m sorry but…” she was about to deny again until she remembered the fight they had the day before, “Oh, the one who hit me in the face!” she exclaimed happily.  
  


“Yeah, I didn’t want you to remember that precisely, but it is easier that way…” Laurel muttered, a bit confused by the cheerful tone in which she had said it.  
  


“So what happened with her?” she asked yawning again.  
  


“She started seeing my memories, memories I didn’t want her to see” Laurel explained dryly, upset at the lack of reception of her partner, but now Eira was listening attentively, almost as if they were side by side.  
  


“That’s weird, maybe my instability, plus your strong reconnection with your past, opened up the link you created to her, causing an unpredicted leakage,” Eira theorized, worrying Laurel, who didn’t wish for anything like this to happen again, “But don’t worry, I’ll make sure she won’t remember as much when she wakes up,” she said with a smile, trying to calm her down, drawing up a conjure in the ground, “But then I will need to rest a bit more,” she added stretching her arms.  
  


“I understand you get exhausted very easily and I hope we find a solution very soon,” Laurel said, serious yet hopeful, “I’m thankful you’re going to help me” she continued while Eira activated her spell, listening carefully to what the other girl was saying, “But you don’t have much time to rest, we have stuff to do” Laurel sentenced, causing Eira to frown.  
  


“You’re mean! You made me do it before I knew that!” she stressed, letting out an upset sigh, “But fine, a few minutes will suffice”  
  


“Sleep tight” Laurel wished, smiling briefly, while Eira fell asleep again, with a smile of her own.  
  


Already at the village, Catra finally woke up. Sweaty and agitated, unaware of where she was or what was going on. She straightened quickly, dropping a cloth that rested on her forehead, her eyes scanning her surroundings, scared for not being able to remember anything that had happened. And it wasn’t until she spotted Glimmer sitting by her side- who stood from her seat immediately at the sight of Catra being awake- that she felt a bit more relaxed.  
  


“What happened?” she asked, breathing heavily, still twitching, “Where’s Adora?”  
  


“Easy, everything’s fine” Glimmer replied, trying to calm her down, “You passed out while we were traveling” she explained. Catra gave her a confused look: she still couldn’t remember much, “It might have been the lack of sleep,” Glimmer added, trying to justify it someway, although deep down, she was very worried.  
  


“Yeah, it might have…” Catra said trying still to recall whatever happened, noticing the blankets covering her.”  
  


“Adora…” tried Glimmer to explain the girl's whereabouts, but the sound of the door opening made her turn around, meeting the girl in question.  
  


“We are back,” she said entering alongside Bow, who was holding a small basket and a jar with water.  
  


“And we brought some stuff” added Bow proudly, but neither of them kept talking since both realized that Catra was awake. Adora, with no thoughts in her head, almost ran at full speed to see how she was.  
  


“Catra, are you okay?” she asked dumbly, standing by her side.  
  


“No, I’m dead,” she replied sarcastically, a bit annoyed by the slight headache she still felt.  
  


“We brought you some food,” said Bow, handing her fruit and a glass of water. Catra stared at it reluctantly.  
  


“Thanks but…”  
  


“You have to eat something” interrupted kindly Glimmer.  
  


“At least try” insisted Adora. Catra sighed and took some of the food, eating slowly. The three smiled.  
  


While Catra finished her food and drink, Adora sat on the edge of the bed and Bow in a seat next to Glimmer.  
  


“Can you remember anything of what happened?” inquired Adora worryingly, still trying to wrap her head around the incident.  
  


“No, not too much,” she replied, trying to think about it, she managed to recall the passing out, but suddenly her head pinched slightly. She dropped the glass.  
  


“Catra, what’s wrong?” asked Adora, ready to hold her again just in case. But this time the pain was caused by another memory invading her mind. Catra stared at the blonde-haired girl, a bit dazed, but overcoming it.  
  


“I think…” she tried to explain, interrupting herself by attempting to visualize more clearly the small image inside her head, “I think I saw stuff… visions” she added under the scrutiny of the rest, “But I can’t remember them all, only one of them, one that had a girl in it. A girl that could transform into She-ra…”  
  


“The same girl of the nightmare?” questioned Adora, puzzled.  
  


“No, she was She-ra, and even had the old sword,” she said firmly at the group, who still couldn’t connect the dots, “But it wasn’t you, Adora, it was another person: her hair was dark, and had a very warm smile…”  
  


“Mara!” exclaimed Bow, Glimmer and, Adora at the same time. Catra looked at them puzzled; she didn’t know who they meant.  
  


“But how…?” quizzed Bow, looking at the ground first and then at Catra with a bewildered expression, “You never saw her once…”  
  


“I don’t know,” said Catra, “Ever since we arrived here I have all these weird dreams and visions,” she hugged herself, “At first I thought it was nothing, but I have suspicions it might be something more…”  
  


“Eira and Laurel…” interrupted Glimmer astounded. Catra nodded at that, making Adora anxious.  
  


“If it’s really them, what can we do?” asked Adora, frustrated at feeling so helpless.  
  


“I think I can be of help,” said Archie, who had entered the room, scaring them, “I’m sorry I listened to your conversation, but I had something to announce, and I couldn’t help it…”  
  


“It’s fine, if you know how to get them out of my head, I’ll thank you very much, I don’t have the best experiences on this matter,” replied Catra, feeling a shiver down her spine.  
  


“She probably established a type of connection, to watch, torment, and play a bit with you” he explained, the group frown at the latter, “Either way, it won’t be easy to break it if your sorcerer is not as good as you say she is,” he added, giving Glimmer an expectant look.  
  


“I’ll do it, just tell me how” Glimmer stood from her seat, feeling certain of herself.  
  


Archie, upon seeing the girl’s confidence, simply nodded and searched for a small journal, which he provided to Glimmer.  
  


“These are some of my sister’s old annotations, I know what you are looking for it’s there” he assured them.  
  


Glimmer took it carefully and started to read, in search of the appropriate spell and realizing it wouldn’t be hard to cast once she found the right page. The girl stood in front of Catra, who was sitting on the bed, scared.  
  


“Everything will be fine if you can focus,” said Archie.  
  


The spell started, while Adora and Bow witnessed the situation with anxiety and worry; they didn’t know how this might turn out. Catra, with her eyes, shut closed, kept swallowing hard, afraid of ending up fried. Nonetheless, she breathed deeply, leaving her nervousness aside, knowing she wouldn’t be of help in that state.

At first, everything went well, until Catra suddenly felt a weird presence around her. She opened her eyes. And she wasn’t wrong. Turning her head ever so slowly, she started to see shadows coming into the room; this altered her even worse than before while she blinked compulsively, hoping they’ll disappear, hoping it wasn’t more than a hallucination.  
  


“Guys…” she whispered, seeing they wouldn’t disappear. Bow and Adora looked at her, “Can you see that?” asked horrified as the shadows started to get near to her, almost as if those were arms.  
  


“What is it? What do you see?” asked Adora, worried and alarmed, but without moving since she didn’t want to interfere between Catra and Glimmer, whose expression morphed into one of uncertainty and bother.  
  


“Shadows,” she replied as they got closer and closer and without thinking she cried desperately, “Glimmer hurry up!” the sorceress kept repeating the chant to make sure to make no mistake.  
  


“Almost done” Glimmer exclaimed nervously, trying not to lose focus.  
  


Catra saw how a shadow took the form of a human, getting even closer to her. The girl, terrified, tried to move a little, but a hand grabbed her face. This caused Catra to shut her eyes with horror.  
  


“Such a shame we cannot play together anymore, kitty” she heard that sarcastic voice with clarity. Then a bright light went through Catra and made the shadow disappear. Catra opened her eyes suddenly, breathing heavily, seeing how everything shifted back to normal.  
  


Glimmer practically breathe again; such a situation had tired and desperate her a lot.  
  


“Are you guys okay?” asked Bow and Adora, who looked perplexed for what they witnessed, unable to assimilate it. Both girls nodded.  
  


“Nicely done” congratulated Archie, placing his hand on Glimmer’s shoulder, with a smile, “I know you’re tired but, whenever you’re ready…” he said, looking at the group, which were still exalted, “The Queen is waiting for you, but take your time” he added kindly, understanding the situation perfectly, the group nodded and the boy exited the room.  
  


“That was... more than I expected” manifested Glimmer while she dropped her weight in a seat she had by her side, exhausted.  
  


“Don’t tell me about it” added Catra still disgusted, laying down again, while Adora took her place again on the edge of the bed, “Thanks, sparkles” she said sincerely. The other girl smiled.  
  


“You’re welcome, scum” she replied, laughing briefly, helping ease the tension in the ambient. Bow and Adora let out a sigh of relief, finally seeing them okay.  
  


“We were really worried, we didn’t know what to do,” explained Adora, sighing again, the same as Bow.  
  


“It was something I needed to do, you couldn’t but support us and hoped everything turned out well” replied Glimmer, smiling at them.  
  


“What are we gonna do?” asked the boy after minutes of silence, the girls gave him a confused look, “I mean with the Queen…” he clarified, “Are you okay to go talk?” he asked Glimmer and Catra, “because if you don’t, we can go with Adora or…”  
  


“No, it’s fine” interrupted Catra, getting up and stretching, “I rested enough” she affirmed, “You, sparkles?” she asked posing her eyes on the girl.  
  


“I feel a bit tired still, but it’s just a conversation, so…” Glimmer replied, shrugging.  
  


“Good… but we could rest a little bit more, I don’t think they’ll get mad,” said Adora with a smile.  
  


The group decided to do just that, and took a small break, chatting a little and snacking on some of the stuff they had previously brought. Once they felt ready, they took their modest belongings and abandoned the cabin, meeting with the colorful town that the gang except for Catra, had already seen. The latter started to eye the place with detail: there, all the houses were painted with different tones, but respecting the colors of the vegetation around them, creating a nice and balanced combo. The people and the animals habituating the place acted happy despite everything they’ve been through. The kids played, dirtying their clothes with the red soil, but that didn’t seem to phase them at all. Catra observed all she could with a smile, curiously, as she followed the rest, who appeared to know where they needed to go.

The squad stopped once they reached what presented itself as an old and careless palace, surrounded and almost buried in vegetation, with huge doors watched by two armed guards.  
  


“The Queen has been waiting for you,” said one of them, upon seeing the friend squad, opening the gates and allowing them to pass through; they did shyly, entering the place.  
  


Although the palace was huge, it had no comparison with those from Etheria; part of this one had clear signs of attacks, painting, and sculptures all over the place, had been broken and ruined, something the group immediately noticed. They walked slowly, observing everything with attention, their steps and the birds outside being the only sound they heard. But Catra stopped abruptly, causing the rest to stop too, except Adora which remained unaware, clashing against her.  
  


“That’s her!” yelled Catra distressed, ignoring the impact and pointing at a painting in the wall, her voice echoing against the walls. The rest followed her finger, but couldn’t quite understand what she meant, “The She-ra I saw in my nightmare” she clarified with her eyes still in the painting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I hope you had a great week and that you liked the chapter!  
>  This chapter has the name of a song by Ruelle, an artist that I really recommend.  
>  I was thinking on make a playlist to listen with the fic, but it would take some work, would you like me to do it?  
>  I wish you a good weekend and see you on Monday ♥
> 
> Written by: Oriana Ruiz Diaz (@RedLiepard)  
>  Translated: Micaela Agata (@BlondePhoenixx)


	6. Chapter 3: Monsters (Part 2)

"That's her!" yelled Catra distressed, ignoring the impact and pointing at a painting in the wall, her voice echoing against the walls. The rest followed her finger, but couldn't quite understand what she meant, "The She-ra I saw in my nightmare" she clarified with her eyes still in the painting.  
  


"That's Laurel" indicated the Queen, behind them. Catra jumped a bit due to the surprise, and all, included her, turned around to stared at the woman, which no one saw approaching, "My apologies, it wasn't my intention to fright you" she apologized with a kind smile.

  
"No, it's fine, we didn't see you coming, you have nothing to worry about" clarified Catra, surprised and a bit nervous, while she observed that beautiful woman, who had short blond hair, and grey deep eyes.

  
"Apologies to you, ma'am, we didn't even introduce ourselves," said Adora nervously, but smiling.

  
"You must be Adora" Pointed the Queen, as the aforementioned seemed surprised, "Archie told me about you, guys, you two must be Bow and Glimmer, and you're..." she doubted when she got to Catra.

  
"Catra..." replied the girl, a bit upset, with her arms crossed.

  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I swear I tried to remember you all," said the Queen, frustrated.

  
"It's fine" Catra faked a smile, and the Queen answered with one of her own.

  
"I believe it's now the time to introduce myself. My name is Rose, I hope we can offer you a warm stay" as the Queen happily presented herself, Archie got inside the room and walked over to the group.

  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," said Bow, as he and the rest did a small reverence, "We are here to help" he added with a smile.

  
"Yes, Archie put me up to speed" she clarified posing his eyes on the boy, as he stopped his tracks to rest on a pillar, near them. The group turned around to face him too. "I'm deeply thankful for your interest, but this situation isn't easy at all, and neither will be your mission" she explained helplessly, "so I'd understand if you chose not to accept it."

  
"Trust us when I tell you we have plenty of experience in complicated situations," said Glimmer with a smile, trying to reassure her.

  
"Doesn't matter how, but we will get your daughter back, and we'll try to get your planet in shape" added Adora in a serious voice, looking at the Queen, who smiled again.

  
"Thanks, my son told me how brave and strong you are, but I must warn you the confrontation you had with my daughter it's nothing compared to what she and Laurel have prepared" she warned them.

  
"I know, I saw it" replied Catra, arms crossed, letting out a sigh.

  
"We have to try it" Adora posed her hand in Catra's shoulder, trying to be cheerful although she noticed the Queen's face still showed worry.

  
"If you could provide us more information, we might be more prepared," Bow asked kindly, smiling.

  
"I don't know what Archie may have told you, but all I knew back in those times, because of my mother and Eira, is that Laurel was the result of a project my people had to do with the Ethernian's," she started to explain, trying to remember everything, "They wanted to create a warrior, similar to She-ra," her eyes gazing at Adora, "and they did it, but she didn't accomplish the purpose they gave her, and apparently, a time later she tried to rebelled, but they stopped her by locking her up, with magic, in the dark," she finished solemnly.

  
"So... is she as powerful as She-ra?" asked Glimmer, worried at such possibility.

  
"I don't know much about She-ra, but according to my assumptions, no" The Queen shook her head reassuringly to calm the squad's fears, "But alongside my daughter, she may be close to it, or even surpassed it" she added, the group freaked out again.

  
"But Laurel can't use her powers with Eira, right?" questioned Catra, "If can't use magic, we'll be fine and won't be at risk of something like that happening." She theorized with safety, as the Queen nodded.

  
"That is correct, but the problem is that the separation spell requires a lot of magic, and we could only accomplish this if we freed more magic, so we would need you to bring the gem that holds Zeiren's magic, but if Laurel gets there first..." she started to explain, unable to finish the idea, but succeeding in getting her concept across, "That's why we got to try for her not to get it."

  
"But if we use magic for the spell, that won't be bad for the planet?" asked Glimmer.

  
"My planet is unsalvageable, that's a fact, but the spell would be less harmful like it would be for Laurel to get her powers back. If we play smart, Eira could come back to us, and Zeiren will be safe again," The Queen replied, with hope, "Although I must warn it won't be as easy as it seems, my daughter is weak, but Laurel has followers that will try to get the gem away from us."

  
"I promise we'll do the impossible to stop anything bad from happening" affirmed Adora, staring at the rest who nodded compellingly with a smile, convincing the Queen.

  
"Thanks, but if that's the case then you should hurry up and get ready, Laurel already knows you're here and it's safe to assume she'll attack sooner than later," she warned, beckoning Archie to go over, "If you agree, my son will help you, there's no one that knows this place better than him" the Queen smiles proudly, as the young man stood beside Adora and the group nodded. "Before you depart, you'll get lunch, after all, it wouldn't good to venture into this wild jungle with an empty stomach"

  
"I think we'll all agree to that" answered Catra smiling, appreciating how Adora's eyes lit up after the Queen mentioned food.

  
"Come with me, then" offered Archie, and the rest followed him to where he wanted to take them.

  
"Good luck, see you at lunch," said the Queen kindly, waving at them as they abandoned the big hallway.

  
The group went to another lounge, escorted by Archie and two more guards, the latter stood outside when the rest entered that big place: it only took a couple of seconds to notice it was a hall of arms, filled to the brim with those, flags and suits of armor that decorated the place entirely. Bow, Glimmer, Adora, and Catra watched the place curiously, while Archie seemed very focused searching for something in between the showcases; but he was interrupted by an older man, that walked to them.

  
"Archie, my dear, do you need help with something?" asked the man kindly, the archer simply pointed at the squad behind him.

  
"Those are Adora, Bow, Glimmer, and Catra" he gestured at each of them, "And, as you can see, Louis, some need a change of clothes" the old man's eyes shine at that statement.

  
"Wait a second" he pleaded, excited, while he ran to fulfill his quest, the group seemed completely confused, Archie upon noticing, turn around to face them.

  
"You can't walk in the jungle like this" he explained, his hands moved up and down at their outfits, ignoring the offended look of the squad. "We were fortunate that no wild animal faced us, but I doubt we'll be as lucky again" Archie clarified. Louis entered again with his arms full of products, stopping anyone from complaining.

  
"If you shine, you die, bowman," he said while handling Bow a uniform, who grabbed it disappointingly.

  
"Do I look that bad?" asked the boy, saddened of leaving his iconic suit behind, eyeing the new one: it looked very different from the one he wore, but it was certain it mesh better with the vegetation of the place.

  
"You can't go through the jungle dressed in white and gold, dear, you'll be very noticeable" explained the old man with a kind smile that let no room to complain, "Dressers are that way" he pointed cheerfully. Bow, sad and defeated, walked to them.

  
"What about us?" asked Catra distrustful, her arms crossed over her chest.

  
"You are fine," he replied, the girl smiled triumphantly, "Glimmer?" he corroborated looking at her, she nodded, "You should wear this" he handed her another uniform, very pretty and entirely different from the current one, "And you Adora..." he looked at her up and down, uncertain, "You wear a lot of white and that red is very shiny" his eyes traveling to the girl's outfit and the pile of clothes he had brought, "perhaps just something for the top, and you'll be fine" he sentenced while giving her the new piece, and both her and Glimmer went to the dressers, silent but unwillingly. Catra felt entertained at her friend's attitude.

  
"Shall we go wait for them to see how they look?" asked Louis enthusiastic to Catra and Archie.

  
"I'm good" replied the boy, resting lightly on one of the showcases.

  
"I'm dying to see them" accepted Catra with a mocking smile, accompanying the man.

  
It didn't take long for the group of three to change, exiting the dressers with their new outfits. Adora didn't look very fazed, after all, it still was a sort of uniform, so she felt comfortable and fresher since it adapted better to the environment. Glimmer was happy with hers as well, but Bow felt like his covered the abdominal zone way too much.

  
"Could we remove this?" he begged the Bow, pointing to his stomach,

  
"My dear, you have a death wish?" replied Louis, with exaggerated apprehension, "That bit is vital to cover," he explained, tapping it softly. Bow seemed inconsolable. Louis inspected Adora and Glimmer, "You are excellent," he remarked, enchanted at their looks. Catra appeared to be disappointed, standing a few meters away with her arms crossed.

  
"Thanks" Both girls thank him, while they stared at their friends' disenchantment.

  
"What's the deal, Catra?" asked Adora with a mocking smile, walking over her with Glimmer.

  
"You wanted us to look ridiculous, didn't you?" continued Glimmer, posing her elbow on Catra's shoulder.

  
"I'll settle for the boy's sadness" Catra replied, pushing Glimmer's arm away, with pride. Both Adora and the princess laugh softly.

  
"Hey! I heard that!" exclaimed the Bow, undignified at Catra's words, the girl started to laugh as well.

  
Amidst this exchange, Archie entered the room with the two guards that originally escorted them, when the group remained unaware of his presence; he cleared his throat to make himself heard.

  
"If you are finished, the guards will escort you to the lunch" he indicated seriously, the group and Louis gave him an expectant look, waiting for his feedback, "Louis, good job" he finally congratulated him, and the old man hugged him tightly.

  
"You are such a good boy"

  
"You won't be coming with us?" asked Bow.

  
"I will be with you in a couple of minutes, I have some things to discuss with him" he replied, meaning Louis, who seemed surprised.

  
"Okay, but before you go I want to say goodbye" retorted Louis, as he walked over each one of the gang, hugging them tightly, followed by two kisses on their cheeks. The gang didn't know how to react to so much show of affection, "I wish you guys good luck, I hope everything works out and I hope to see you again" he added, a bit emotional.

  
"Thank you so much, we hope for the same" replied Adora kindly with a smile, talking for everybody, before retiring.

  
"Wait a minute" exclaimed Louis, stopping them in their tracks. The man disappeared for a couple of seconds, as the rest stood dumbfounded, but soon he reappears with a large number of arrows in his arms, Bow eyes shined and let out a broken scream of happiness, "These arrows are very special," he explained while Bow cradled them like a trophy, Louis smiled at the boy's emotion, "I'm sure Archie will love to help you,"

  
"Thank you so much!" he thanked excitedly, hugging Louis.

  
"Now you may leave, the Queen is waiting for you, and the food might get cold," he said in a strict yet fun tone, the group laughed and waved at him, then left.

  
Glimmer, Adora, Catra, and Bow were escorted by the guards into the large dining room, this time they got to see new bits of the building, which told a story in each wall that, despite the damage, could be understood still.

The first thing they noticed at entering the dining room was, unavoidably, the extraordinaire amount of food placed on the table located at the center of the room, in which the Queen awaited for them. She stood immediately to greet them.

  
"Take a seat and grab anything you want" she suggested amicably, the group sat down and started tuck-in that succulent feast.

  
"Your fruit is delicious but I was getting a bit tired of it" admitted Catra while serving herself some of the steak, happier and hungrier than previous times.

  
"I understand" nodded the Queen with a smile, "That's why I asked for more variety on the menu today."

  
"Thank you, it's great" appreciated Glimmer. Bow and Adora nodded, mouth-full, enthusiastically.

  
"You're welcome" she replied cordially, "Now when you're ready we'll bring the dessert and..."

  
"Dessert?!" asked Adora without swallowing, interrupting Rose, who laughed.

  
"Adora!" Glimmer and Catra scolded her.

  
"Sorry" she looked shamed.

  
"No problem" replied the Queen still laughing, "and yes, there will be dessert," she added, making Bow and Adora's eyes shine, "and as I was saying, once you're done, we should begin to discuss your plan."

  
The group shared a puzzled look, not knowing what to say.

  
"Our plan?" asked Bow, swallowing hard, "we are still not sure where we need to go..."

  
"Oh, my apologies, I thought Archie had told you something about it" she excused the misunderstanding, "Shall I explain you now?"

  
"Sure, I don't see why not" accepted Adora, nonchalantly, sipping on her drink.

  
"Okay, so I will..." she said as she motioned a guard to bring one big map of the place, for everybody to see, "The two points of importance are here and here" she marked what seemed to be a cave and a waterfall, on two opposite sides of the map.

  
"But those places are far off between" pointed Glimmer.

  
"Indeed, that's why I thought that maybe because there's five of you, it'll be better to prepare two groups; one for the waterfall to get the book, and for the cave," she explained.

  
"No water for me" sentenced Catra, trying to get herself away from that situation.

  
"The waterfall will only show the library that lies inside, to a sorcerer," the Queen continued, "So you, young lady, must go" she indicated politely to Glimmer.

  
"That's fine by me" she shrugged, "What are you guys going to do?" she asked Bow and Adora, who were already attacking the desserts.

  
"Don't know, it's the sam..." started to say the latter with no worries until she felt a sharp stomp on her foot, "I'll go with Catra" she sentenced abruptly, leaving the rest puzzled at the sudden change, but not paying much attention.

  
"Okay, then I'll go with Glimmer" accepted Bow, and the princess gave her a cheerful hug.

  
"Okay, then I'll go with you two" Archie appeared in the room, sitting beside Bow and Glimmer, "I'm sorry about the delay"

  
"Don't worry, son" said her mother lovingly, but Archie didn't appear to correspond to her good mood.

  
"You'll have a difficult mission," said the young man to Catra and Adora, "the cave it's more than just that, plenty of people had tried to enter and died," he explained seriously, then he took a sip from a glass sitting in front of him.

  
"Why?" asked Adora worryingly.

  
"Only one person can enter the cave, and the cave has, as I said, a spell, which makes you face your worst fears. It starts for the more shallow ones, and if you lose control, it'll take to the deepest ones," he clarified, leaving the girls more worried than before, "my sister and Laurel cannot enter because the cave doesn't accept magical beings, and of course, their attempts at sending people inside backfired," he explained, "So you girls have to be very careful when you get there, especially you," he warned at Catra, who swallowed hard, kind of regretting her choice since she understood that Adora couldn't enter with her.

  
"I'm sure these two charming and brave ladies will succeed" stated the Queen, smiling while she gazed at the girls, which looked very uncertain.

  
"Yeah, sure. Of course" replied Catra with a nervous smile, Adora, sensing her discomfort, grabbed Catra's hand under the table, and then gifted her with a smile, in an appeasing manner.

  
"You two will go with me, because I believed the girls will be safer with She-ra, and it's also possible they'll try to stop us from getting the book" Archie explained to Bow and Glimmer, "in your case, be careful at the exit," said to Catra and Adora who nodded, "and if we leave soon, we'll get there before dusk..." he hinted at their empty plates, trying to hurry the matter.

  
"Okay then, I don't see what are we waiting for" replied Catra, prideful, trying to hide her fear.

  
"It'll be risky, but I truly have hope in you guys," expressed the Queen, hopeful, getting up of the table, "Good luck"

  
"Thank you for this reception, we'll try to be up to this challenge" answered Glimmer, intending to sound confident, leaving her doubts behind her, the rest nodded at her words.

  
"Thanks to you for coming to this planet to help it," the Queen said honestly.

  
There was no going back, or any time to lose. It didn't matter how afraid or doubtful they felt, they had to try their best, especially because of the poor state of that planet. The friend squad was aware of it, that's why after a short goodbye, and promises of victory, they wandered off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, how are you? I hope you had a very good weekend and that you are enjoying the story. Little by little more things are revealed and soon moments with a lot of tension will come...
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, see you on Friday with the beginning of chapter 4 ❤
> 
> Written by: Oriana Ruiz Diaz (@RedLiepard)  
> Translated by: Micaela Agata (@BlondePhoenixx)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my name is Oriana, first of all I want to thank you for reading this chapter. I also want to clarify that the story is already finished, so there is no risk that I will leave it in the middle or anything like that, it will be published every Monday and Friday (There are 7 chapters (14 parts)) . (It is available in Spanish for those who want to read it in that language).
> 
> Do not hesitate to leave your comments or criticisms. For news and curiosities of the story, follow me on Instagram (@ redliepardw) or on twitter (@ redliepard), I will be uploading news and warning each time I upload a new chapter.
> 
> Thank you very much again, I hope you like it!
> 
> Translated by: Micaela Agata  
> Twitter: @BlondePhoenixx


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